After almost 10 years, Burger King is improving its best-selling menu item – the Whopper. According to a CNN report, the Burger King Whopper will now have a premium bun, creamier mayo and come in a box instead of paper.
The company said it launched the improved Whoppers in more than 7,000 stores in America this week.
Why is the Whooper being remade?
Burger King has decided to redesign its Whopper after consumers complained that its iconic smashed burgers have been falling apart over the years.
“So the Whopper was broken, literally, I heard it … and we saw it,” Tom Curtis, president of Burger King (U.S. and Canada), told CNN. He said the company has improved the Whopper’s packaging to one “that holds it together.”
“The creamier mayo honestly came from some franchisees who said they wanted a more premium mayo. And then also upgrade and make the bun premium,” he added.
Realizing that customer feedback is by far the best way to make changes, Curtis began taking calls directly from customers last week.
Burger King is ‘cautious’ with these changes
Curtis told CNN that the restaurant chain was “cautious” with its changes. The beef patty, for example, remains the same.
“You don’t want to just rip up the textbook and start over,” he said. “It’s like we’re dressing up our famous iconic burger in a tuxedo instead of a leisure suit.”
Will the Whopper cost more now?
According to a CNN report, the “improved” Whopper will cost Burger King franchisees an additional $4,000 per year.
However, local franchise owners were advised not to raise prices as the restaurant suggested the investment would help boost sales.
“It’s very complicated for franchises,” said Robert Byrne, senior director of consumer research at Technomic. He told CNN that franchisees might say the cost of labor hasn’t come down, “so why are you asking me to spend more here?”
“Well, to improve your business, but it’s a struggle,” added Byrne.
How did the rebuild happen?
This new Whopper took Burger King seven months to test the mayo, burger buns and packaging.
Amy Alarcon, executive chef at Burger King, told CNN that no idea was thrown away in the BK kitchen, and they even thought of an upside-down burger — a burger with beef patties as buns.
Putting the burger upside down “was actually distracting from the goal,” she said.
Amy confided that she sourced nearly a dozen bakeries for this redesign. The baking pan has been resized to give the bread more life and glaze.
“It helps the sesame seeds stick to the bun better, and then it just creates that visual appeal,” she said, noting that the new buns make the Whopper look a little more artisanal and less like a factory-made product baked at high speed.
For the mayonnaise, the kitchen team wanted creamier notes, a bit of sweetness and a hint of citrus. As for the packaging, the team found that the clamshell box kept the burger fresh, “while still retaining some of the heat and getting that melted cheese experience,” Amy said.
