Burger King Reveals Major Changes for Its Whopper and Other Menu ItemsBurger King parent company Restaurant Brands International revealed the changes on an earnings call.
On Tuesday,Burger Kingparent company Restaurant Brands International shared its fourth-quarter earnings and future plans in anearnings call. The call announced the removal of the brand's Whopper burger from its discount menu, as well as other menu changes.
"At the end of December, we rolled out our first of two waves of menu simplification, removing low-volume items," Tom Curtis,Burger KingU.S. and Canada president, saidduring the call.
According toReuters, Burger King is also going to stop selling some less-popular menu items completely — items like its sundaes, whipped toppings and chocolate milk. Burger King is aiming to speed up its drive-thru service with a streamlined menu, and the company reports its menu cuts haven't had an impact on Burger King's same-store sales.
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Alongside a revamped menu, customers should expect to see higher prices as a result of commodity costs and labor inflation. However, the fast-food chain hasn't revealed when these higher prices will take effect.
Although customers will no longer be able to buy two Whoppers for $5, the brand hasn't ruled out future discounts. But these deals will no longer be in the form of a physical coupon, as the brand started phasing out paper coupons in October as part of itscost-cutting measures.
"For years, we've been spreading ourselves too thin across too many messages with mixed results . . . we've consistently had the most value constructs in the market, three times as many as our lead competitors, which diluted marketing firepower and added to operational complexity," Restaurant Brands CEO Jose Cil said about its paper coupon strategy.
Restaurant Brands International has other quick-service brands besides Burger King in its portfolio, includingTim Hortons,PopeyesandFirehouse Subs.
As of Thursday morning, Restaurant Brands Internationalshareswere down 1.64% over a 24-hour period.
