Burger King is trying to use a rival's recipe for success to revive its empire, which is ailing since the chain was started in 1954.
The sales of Burger King's Whoppers and fries has lost luster for many years, but the fast-food giant on Monday is struggling to launch 10 food items in its biggest menu expansion.
But there are obvious similarities between Burger King's new lineup and its much-bigger rival McDonald's the offerings, which has rolled out in recent years. Such as the Golden Arches has already rolled out specialty salads in 2003, snack wraps in 2006, premium coffee drinks in 2009, and fruit smoothies in 2010.
Burger King doesn't deny that even though its new chicken strips, caramel frappe coffees, Caesar salads and strawberry-banana smoothies are pretty similar with those on McDonald's popular menu, its executives say that the company has come up with them through its research.
The president of Burger King in North America operations, Steve Wiborg said, "Consumers wanted more choices, not just healthy choices, but choices they could get at the competition."
Because of the single-minded courtship of young men who were hard hit by the economic downturn, Burger King plans to abandon them, who were once the lifeblood of the industry. Burger King let its menu get stale while Competitors went after new customers by offering breakfast items and healthier fare. As a result, it was the first time that Burger King was edged out by Wendy's last year, which was the nation's No. 2 burger chain. McDonald's was No.1.
In order to prevent the decline, last year Burger King's executives decided to bring up to date the 7,200-restaurant chain's aging stores, design new worker uniforms, which have aprons. And they keep clean and even offer the iconic Whopper in cardboard cartons to replace the paper wrapping in more than 20 years. However, food is the most important part of their plan.
As an analyst for the food industry researcher Technomic Inc. Darren Tristano said, "Being an innovator is critical in the fast-food industry." But he said Burger King has been more of a follower in these years.
The principal at the Cambridge Group, a consulting firm, Eddie Yoon, said if companies offer lower prices or superior taste, they will be as successful as Burger King, which comes out with similar products as their rivals. But he said if it's just to follow the rivals' strategy, Burger King's venture would fail.
THE RAMP UP
In recent years, the fast-food industry has experience a change. Five years ago, burger chains were the top three fast-food companies . But now Subway is the second-biggest chain, and Starbucks climbed up to the No. 3 . In addition, smaller players like Five Guys are on their ways too.
The world's biggest burger chain, McDonald's , reinvented itself and offered wireless Internet to keep it as a hip, healthier place to eat . And it also made out of hit menu items like fruit smoothies, iced coffees and oatmeal.
While McDonald's share rose from 42% to 50%, Burger King's share of sales among burger chains fell from 17% to 12% last year. It failed to keep up .
McDonald said he got little response from corporate about addressing the problems after he expressed his concerns at the company's failure to keep up with the times.
He said last year ,the top 's attitude changed after New York-based private equity firm 3G Capital bought Burger King in late 2010,when Burger King equipped a group of 15 key executives, franchisees and suppliers to evaluate the chain's menu, item by item. The process was grueling at times. It took three months of day long meetings.
Burger King quietly made some proper changes during last year . Such as the French fries are made thicker to stay hot longer, one slice of cheese instead of two , and naturally-smoked bacon is now cooked at each restaurant. Moreover, Burger King had previously used a pre-cooked variety with a smoked flavor sprayed on.
Would the new items come up to those of Burger King's competitors? The company guided consumer tests and improved its recipes monthly , and the new items had to be amended time after time. Such as before the final version came out, the new "Home style Chicken Strips" went through 11 variations, and before the company found the right mix of creaminess, iciness and tanginess for its strawberry banana and tropical mango smoothies, it took about seven months and six tries.
A customer, Eldy Pick, who was in Miami, said she liked having some lighter choices. She generally gets the chicken or fish sandwiches, but now she was eating the new cranberry apple salad, which was "a treat."
Not only is the food of Burger King more delicious, but also its restaurants show us the signs of aging. Such as mixes leather armchairs, high stools and plastic chairs in warmer lighting, which give them a more modern look.
Until now, there are more than 1,000 franchise locations, which will be updated in the next year. And 2,500 will be remodeled, in the next three years .
It is said that Burger King is launching out its biggest marketing campaign. Customers will see a lot of changes about Burger King's stores. The workers' drab red, black or blue shirts have been replaced by metal gray shirts.
On the menu, the updated stores and the new food can help Burger King fix its troubles remains to be seen. But the chief marketing officer, Alex Macedo, for Burger King in North America, said everyone knows that Burger King is a brand, which has a good chance to rebound.
He said, "People love Burger King and really want a reason to come back,"
