Big moves are being made by “The King” in an effort to breathe life back into the franchise after Burger King took a heavy beating in the lockdown and made changes that harmed the brand and almost put it out to pasture.
The franchise will begin pumping a sizable $400 million cash infusion into overhauling Burger King’s appearance, advertising, menu and even remodeling/revamping over 800 locations over the next few years.
As RBI CEO Jose Cil told CNN Business, “Over the last few years during the pandemic and coming out of the pandemic … [Burger King US] didn’t do a great job of adjusting our business to the environment.”
While many fast food restaurants were parsing down their menus to stay ahead of the game, and the unprecedented boom to business due to online ordering and food delivery – Burger King did just the opposite.
They added items to the menu, overcomplicating a time fraught with supply issues and various uncertainties, like labor shortages. In retrospect, they served themselves a heaping helping of self-sabotage.
“We, in fact, complicated things,” Cil said, “we added menu items … that were more difficult and not necessarily intuitive and typical for us to serve.” Jose continued.
During this time, fast food establishments saw a surge in their sales numbers while Burger King’s numbers declined, and stalled out.
The unfortunate menu addition, Ch’King – which was rolled out last year, ended up putting a stink on operations and “created a ton of bottlenecks operationally,” Cil said.
The abysmal Ch’King has already been discontinued and replaced by the “Royal Crispy Chicken” sandwich.
Putting The Whopper On Center Stage?
While the Whopper is certainly not a new addition or even, an upgrade – the plan is to refocus their attention back onto their signature burger by committing a large amount of advertising into placing the Whopper back on the map in the minds and stomachs of consumers.
“I don’t think we’ve talked about it enough. I just don’t think we’ve celebrated it enough,” Curtis said. “And I’m looking forward to putting it back in its rightful place as our lead act, ” Tom Curtis, President of Burger King North America, told CNN Business.
The team has been toying with the idea of tweaking the Whopper but also fear that messing with the classic could backfire harking back to the overly ambitious, Ch’King.
“[We’re] a little bit in the camp of if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Curtis said.
What’s Coming Down BK’s Pipeline?
Burger King set to work last year implementing various marketing ploys: changing their logo, uniforms and packaging. They want to further reconstruct the burger giant leaving almost no stone, unturned.
The $400 million investment into Burger King’s future, is being allocated into several different areas – they have set aside $250 million towards kitchen remodeling and restaurant technology and $150 million to advertising and digital offerings.
The announced coming changes to their mobile app, would make it a more user-friendly experience for customers while a plan to embrace making online orders and deliveries faster, would serve better in the current climate that is growing ever more focused on convenience.
They will also be doubling down on revamping their rewards program using, customizable digital coupons and deals
The team at Burger King is hoping that the revitalization of their brand Reclaim The Flame will get the King up and “ruling again”, pushing the franchise to the forefront of the fast food industry.
Let’s hope they don’t squander this effort and make it the $400 million equivalent to the Ch’King sandwich nightmare.
