The last few years have been difficult for Burger King.
Mistakes during the pandemic caused the network to lag behind competitors.
For the past few quarters, Burger King has been trying to catch up, and now the company hopes a big investment in restaurants and advertising will help spur growth and propel it ahead of its peers.
Over the next two years, Burger King, owned by Restaurant Brands International, plans to invest $400 million in brand improvement – $250 million will go towards upgrading restaurant, kitchen and renovation technology, and $150 million towards advertising and digital products.
Franchisees will also invest in brand improvement.
A key part of that plan? Reminding customers of what Burger King is all about: the Whopper.
“What we really want to do in the short term is reintroduce America’s love affair with the Whopper,” Tom Curtis, president of Burger King North America, told CNN Business .
The plan is to ensure that workers are well-trained to make the best Whopper possible and that kitchens offer consistency and ease of preparation.
The fast food giant will also lean in to advertise its signature burger.
“I don’t think we talked enough. I just don’t think we celebrated enough,” Curtis said.
“And I look forward to putting him back in his rightful place as our main act.”
Through advertising, Burger King wants to remind customers that the Whopper is flame-grilled and customizable. But some other tweaks may also be in store, Curtis said.
The brand is “evaluating whether or not there are changes to the Whopper that could make it a better product,” he said.
But the team also doesn’t want to risk messing with its best-known offering. “We’re a little bit in the field of: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Curtis said.
what went wrong
During the pandemic, restaurants have had to quickly adjust their business models to deal with disrupted supply chains, closed dining rooms and a surge in demand for delivery. Burger King didn’t adapt very well.
“Over the past few years, during the pandemic and coming out of the pandemic… Burger King USA has not done a great job of adjusting our business to the environment,” RBI CEO Jose Cil told CNN Business . “We don’t simplify.”
In the pandemic, many restaurants quickly scaled back menus to simplify kitchen operations when delivery orders suddenly skyrocketed.
Workers who struggle to fulfill orders online could at least avoid complicated preparations.
But Burger King did the opposite.
“We actually complicated things,” said Cil, “we added menu items… that were more difficult and not necessarily intuitive and typical to serve.”
Specifically, Cil is talking about the Ch’King, a handmade chicken sandwich the chain launched last year. The product “created a ton of bottlenecks operationally,” said Cil.
Problems made Burger King pull back as competitors advanced.
In the second quarter of this year, sales at US Burger King restaurants that have been open for at least 13 months grew just 0.4%.
McDonald’s sales at US restaurants open for at least 13 months jumped 3.7% in that period.
Burger King recently retired the Ch’King, replacing it with the Royal Crispy Chicken sandwich.
The Ch’King “was a great product that was difficult or challenging for teams to run,” Curtis said.
“The best thing for the guest is the taste and consistency. So our newly launched Royal Crispy Chicken offers both.”
As Burger King continues to work on other menu innovations, it will have to balance ease of execution with items that excite customers, Curtis added.
refurbishment
To help increase restaurant sales and traffic, Burger King is making other improvements, including making restaurants more modern.
The chain plans to renovate about 800 restaurants over the next two years.
The idea is to have a consistent brand, but with custom layouts that make sense for the environment, Curtis said. A Burger King in a city might be smaller, with a greater focus on digital ordering. In a rural town, it may have more seats.
Burger King has already started updating its image.
The brand changed its logo last year, changed packaging, uniforms and signage for the new look.
A few years ago, he shared what refurbished restaurants can look like: three-lane drive-thrus, hamburger pickup lockers, and takeout counters.
The company also wants to make it easier for customers to use the network’s mobile app, overhaul its rewards program by offering personalized digital offers, and make delivery and takeout more convenient.
Source: CNN Brasil
Joe Jameson, a technology journalist with over 2 years of experience, writes for top online news websites. Specializing in the field of technology, Joe provides insights into the latest advancements in the industry. Currently, he contributes to covering the world stock market.
