The burger wars are heating up.
Burger King’s second-quarter US same-store sales jumped 8.5%, while McDonald’s growth lagged at 0.8% and Wendy’s went backward, falling 7%.
It’s not just a win for Burger King’s new strategy (more on that in a bit). It shows the burger wars are alive and well, writes BI’s Alex Bitter.
A big reason for the reignited competition is rising prices. Fast food is no longer something you can grab with the quarters stuck at the bottom of your car cup holder.
When the dollar menu becomes the three-dollar menu, people get pickier. The most convenient option — often McDonald’s because its US footprint is about twice the size of Wendy’s and Burger King — is no longer viewed as the best.
That theme came up repeatedly in our reader survey last week about McDonald’s: A restaurant meant to feel like a value no longer fits the bill.
Customers are open to options on either end of the pricing spectrum. For those looking for cheaper choices, gas stations and convenience stores suddenly become a viable pick. (For me, Wawa is the destination, not a stop along the way.)
And if you’re willing to up the ante, a casual sit-down restaurant isn’t much more expensive these days. Chili’s, for example, has done a good job creating a dupe of the McDonald’s Quarter Pounder.
The end result is a burger environment that feels out of whack for longtime insiders.
“The fact that you even put Chili’s as a rival to McDonald’s — we would’ve never said that before,” Mike Perry, founder of Tavern, an agency working with restaurant and hospitality clients, told Alex.
So, how has Burger King stepped up its game?
It all started earlier this year with a new ad campaign.
CMO Insider’s Lara O’Reilly covered how Burger King’s splashy Oscar’s ad was a big hit. The pitch was simple: Acknowledge it screwed up and wasn’t meeting customers’ expectations. It even fired the King himself! (You can watch the entire ad here.)
At the same time, Burger King revamped its famous Whopper. And it didn’t just change the ingredients. Whoppers are now packaged in a box instead of a wrapper, because smashed burgers are only good when you order them that way.
You can read Erin McDowell’s full review here.
Early signs point to a winner. Whopper sales are up 20% compared to the old version.
Because losing the King didn’t mean Burger King couldn’t make a play for the crown.
