Burger King premium burgers — BrandWiki

Burger King premium burgers

opt2v	125 mg

sodium mg	1820

carbs	41 g

fiber	2 g

sugars	8 g

protein	39 g

vita ug	35

vitc mg	0

iron mg	1.9

source	www.BK.com (PDF)

As far back as the 1970s, international fast food restaurant chain Burger King has attempted to introduce a premium line of burgers. These sandwiches are part of a system which eventually became known as the barbell strategy; a plan designed to expand Burger King's menu with both more sophisticated, adult-oriented fare along with products that are more value-oriented. This program is intended to bring in a larger, more affluent adult audience who will be willing to spend more on the better quality products on one side while maintaining a lower cost value menu dedicated to a more cost-conscious audience on the other. The hope is that the customers would be drawn in initially for the lower prices of the value-menu and upgrade to the more expensive products, upping overall sales.

The chain's first major attempt was part of their Specialty Sandwich line that was introduced in 1979 was the Sirloin Steak Sandwich. After the failure of the Specialty Sandwich line, Burger King went on to introduce several other premium burgers made from a variety of meats. One major example introduced in 2002 was the BK Back Porch Griller sandwich line. The sandwich, introduced in May 2002 was a pronounced failure, and pulled in September of that year. The next product Burger King introduced was its Angus Steakburger which it began selling in 2004; it too had lack-luster sales due in part to the patty being pre-cooked. The sandwich was later reformulated as the Steakhouse Burger which used a thinner, flatter, fresh cooked patty. The Steakhouse Burger sandwich was eventually replaced with the Steakhouse XT/Angus XT burger, which used a new, thicker round patty among several other changes. This newer sandwich was made possible with the introduction of the company's new broiler systems which allowed varying cooking times and temperatures which in turn gave the company the ability to utilize fresh cooked, thicker patties in its sandwiches. Only variations of the sandwich that explicitly state "Angus" in the title are manufactured from meat from Angus cattle. In 2011, the company discontinued selling the product in the North American market, replacing it with the Chef's Choice Burger. The Chef's Choice Burger was removed in 2012. 2014 saw the introduction of the newest attempt at introducing a premium burger to the company's portfolio with the introduction of the '''A.1. Ultimate Cheeseburger''' in North America.

Internationally, the chain has introduced several lines of premium sandwiches. In New Zealand, the chain first introduced the BK Crown Jewels line which was based upon the Whopper, TenderGrill, and TenderCrisp sandwiches. The line was eventually replaced with the BK King's Collection menu of Angus-based sandwiches. It also sold Angus-burgers in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. In East Asia, the chains sells the Angus XT sandwich which is a variant of the Steakhouse XT. In Great Britain, the chain has also introduced a burger based on lamb and another based on Wagyu beef, while back in the United States it sold a turkey burger sandwich – all of which were limited time offerings (LTOs).

To promote continuing interest in these products, Burger King occasionally released limited-time only (LTO) variants on its premium burgers that have different ingredients from the standard sandwich recipes. Being one of the company's major business strategies, these sandwiches have sometimes been the center of product advertising for the company.

History

North America

Sirloin Steak sandwich

The Sirloin Steak sandwich was introduced in 1979 as part of a menu expansion that in turn was part of a corporate restructuring effort for Burger King. During the mid-1970s, Burger King was having issues with its operations, franchises and image. In 1978, Donald N. Smith was hired from McDonald's to help restructure the corporate operations of Burger King to better compete against his former company as well as the then up-and-coming chain, Wendy's. As part of an operational overhaul he dubbed "Operation Phoenix", Smith reorganized the corporate operations of Burger King.[1] He also initiated a development plan for a new product line that would become known as the Specialty Sandwich line. Development began that same year, and while the company found that the new product lines would add an approximate eight second delay to the production time of orders and would cost about $39 million in lost productivity,[2]

Advertising

North America

In addition, CP+B added a viral marketing web page The Angus Diet.[65] Designed to work with the larger Angus campaign, this site featured the such things as the Angus diet testimonials, a faux diet book and Angus interventions. The "interventions" could be sent to people via e-mail by filling out several fields on the page. As CP+B stated: "They were a way of getting people to spread the idea of the basis of the Angus Diet – just enjoy life. Do whatever you want. Eat whatever you want as long as it makes you happy."[66]

Dr. Angus – Dr. Angus was a CP+B creation launched in 2004 to promote the new Angus line of Sandwiches. Played by comedian Harry Enfield, the character is a smarmy self-help "doctor" with gleaming white teeth and a starched toupee who encourages eaters to "sit down" and enjoy the BK's large Angus burgers. In 2006, the character was again used to advertise BK's new Cheesy Bacon Angus and TenderCrisp

References

John A. Jakle, Keith A. Sculle, Douglas Pappas. Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age JHU Press, 27 March 2002, retrieved 23 November 2013^
Handbook of hospitality operations and IT Butterworth Heinemann, 2008^
Ginger G. Rodriguez. History of Burger King Corporation Funding Universe, Answers.com, retrieved 23 November 2013^

Back Porch Grillers

The Back Porch Grillers were introduced in 2002 as part of a plan to increase the company's sales ahead of the upcoming sale of Burger King from then owner Diageo to a group of investors led by Texas Pacific Group (TPG).[6] In its press release announcing the product, Burger King stated the intent of the burgers was to evoke the taste of a grilled burger that one would cook at home. At the time of launch there were two flavors of the sandwich, the Homestyle and the Smokehouse Cheddar, both served on a "bakery-style" bun.[7] A third type, the Black Stack BBQ Griller, was introduced as a product tie-in with Men in Black II two weeks later on June 3, 2002.[8][9] Initial testing of the sandwich led to favorable scoring in customer surveys and a roughly 15% increase in sales without compromising the sales of other products such as the Whopper. Due to the favorable results in testing, the company pushed up the introduction of the sandwich nationally. However, the product was statemented into two variants due to the company's introduction of its new broiler line;[6] these new broilers were designed to allow a greater flexibility of products with different cooking times and heat settings which allowed the company to sell thicker burgers that required more cooking times.[10] At the time of the sandwiches' introduction, the new broiler units had only been introduced to about one tenth of its North American stores. In these stores the sandwich was made with a single, thicker 1/3 lbs patty;[11] in those locations with the older units, the company used a pair of thinner 2.4 oz patties in a double burger sandwich.[11] The use of the thinner patties resulted in numerous customer complaints that the sandwich was dry and not as tasteful as the thicker patty version.[6]

The product was introduced at a point of massive change for the company; besides the new broiler system that was being introduced, the company was also adding an entirely new product holding system designed to improve the quality of its products.[12] Burger King was also tinkering with its menu in regards to other products, adding the Griller and a new veggie burger sandwich along with changes to its grilled chicken offerings, onion rings and milkshakes.[13] The company had high hopes for the product at the time of introduction; same store sales for the company had been falling for at least five years resulting in lagging market share and decreased customer counts.[12] The failure of the product left a hole in the company's menu, leaving it without the premium product side of its barbell strategy at a point where parent Diageo was trying to build up the chain's value to maximize the profit in the upcoming sales to the Texas Pacific Group.[6] This failure was part of a series of events that deteriorated the chain's financial performance and eventually forced Diageo to drop its selling price for the chain from $2.26 billion (USD) to $1.5 billion (USD).[14]

Steakhouse XT

With the introduction of the company's new broilers in the United States and Canada in 2009 and 2010, Burger King introduced the third generation of its premium burger sandwich that it called the Steakhouse XT burger, with the XT standing for eXtra Thick.[28] This new sandwich supplanted the previous versions of premium sandwiches as the chains most expensive burger-based sandwich. Unlike the preceding two sandwiches, this version was not made from Angus beef, but was intended to draw upon its ingredients and size as it defining characteristic.[15] A higher-end version of the Steakhouse XT was first introduced in 2009 at the company's new BK Whopper Bar restaurant concept located at Universal Studios Orlando priced at US$5.29.[28] The regular versions were introduced in January 2010 once the company had finished deploying its new broilers in all of its North American restaurants. The new sandwich came in two permanent varieties and a LTO variant, all of which featured a new round, 1/2 in, 7 oz thick patty and was priced at $3.99 to $4.49 depending on the variant.[15][29] At its BK Whopper Bar restaurants, the company added several other varieties beyond the initial one introduced in 2009 that were all exclusive to the high-end concept.[29] The product was the first national product tailored to the new flexible broilers, units that were designed to cook multiple types of products that have different cooking requirements.[30][31]

The sandwich came at a time when there was a great deal of animosity between the chain and its franchises over its Buck Double promotion, which was driving average checks and profits. The Buck Double had been running for since October 2010 to the introduction of the XT, eventually had taken upwards 10% of all sales in the restaurants – cannibalizing sales from other higher priced items.[32] Combined with the ongoing economic downturn at the time, the value- oriented promotion had sent overall profits for the chain down by as much as 3.3%.[30][32] The introduction was seen as a way to help stop the sales slide and prop up the chain's flagging sales.[30] By mid-2011, the Great Recession was also still lingering and many chains, Burger King included, had moved to a discounting as a way to attract customers who were unwilling to spend money during tough economic times. The discounting fit into the barbell strategy as these deals would often encourage people to purchase more food, often at higher price points.[33]

The chain also introduced several LTO versions of the sandwich that featured ingredients such as cheese and jalapeños mixed into the patty; these newer style sandwiches were simply called the Stuffed Steakhouse Burgers.[34] These burgers arrived at a $3.99 price point, and were deemed as a questionable introduction in the midst of hard economic times and extensive value-oriented promotions.[32]

The Steakhouse line was discontinued in 2012,[35] approximately fourteen months after the company was sold to Brazil-based 3G Capital.[36]

Chef's Choice Burger

The Chef's Choice Burger was introduced in October 2011 as part of plan introduced by new corporate parent, 3G Capital, to restructure the chain's operations.[37] Introduced as part of 3G Capital's menu restructuring, the sandwich featured a new 5.5 oz ground chuck patty, a new "artisan" bun and new, reformulated bacon.[38] Burger King's revamped bacon replaced its former, poorly-rated pre-cooked bacon which company executive chef John Koch described as not delivering a "whole lot of bacon flavor". The new bacon was thicker cut, with natural smoked flavoring and cooked in-house.[39] The sandwich was designed to compete with McDonald's existing Angus Third Pounder line and Wendy's new Dave's Hot 'N Juicy Cheeseburgers.[40] The sandwich was introduced with a single permanent variety, and two more variants introduced March 2012.[41]

The burger came at a point in the industry where fast casual restaurants were beginning to take a bite out of the industry as a whole. Burger King, and other chains, at first had not taken chains such as Five Guys and Smashburger as serious competition. Additionally, convenience stores such as 7-Eleven were also expanding their in-store foods with cheaper hot foods that challenged the lower end of the market. These two market trends had the effect of shaving sales from both ends of the menu, challenging the concept of the barbell strategy. As the chains tried to fight the encroachment of the competition from outside fast food industry, McDonald's and Wendy's chose to focus on their menus while Burger King focused its advertising on younger-skewing "superfan". The result was that the other two chains' sales grew by 26% and 9% percent respectively, while Burger King's remained flat.[42]

New owners 3G Capital response to this was to in turn revamp Burger King's menu, stores and image.[43] Besides the Chef's Choice Burger, the company introduced products that emulated McDonald's such as oatmeal, ice cream and smoothies.[43][44]

Another way that the company moved in order to update its message was by dropping long time agency of record, Crispin Porter + Bogusky (CP+B). CP+B had been one of the major players in the superfan demographic targeting with its Burger King character-based commercials for several years. Beginning in 2012 chain moved its advertising program to the advertising firm of McGarryBowen to promote the sandwich through a new food-centric campaign.[45][46][47] The advertising program and naming of the product is designed to add to the cache of the product by associating with the terminology with higher quality products.[48]

Back Porch Grillers

Steakhouse XT

The Steakhouse line was discontinued in 2012,[35] approximately fourteen months after the company was sold to Brazil-based 3G Capital.[36]

Chef's Choice Burger

New Zealand

Crown Jewels

The BK Crown Jewels line was developed by the Burger King franchisee in New Zealand, Tasman Pacific Foods, abbreviated TPF. The sandwiches were introduced in the summer of 2005 as part of Burger King's global program to introduce more adult oriented fare to its menu.[54] The products themselves were variations on the existing Whopper, TenderCrisp and TenderGrill sandwiches and featured more exotic ingredients such as mango lime salsa, avocado and garlic aioli.[54]

Within two months of their introduction, sales at New Zealand restaurants had increased by approximately 10%, and drew the attention of Burger King Holdings. BKH observed the sales trends and market acceptance of the products for several months after the introduction for the possible purpose of extending the concept in other markets. While the concept was tailored for the New Zealand market, TPF executives stated that it would be easy to adapt the concept to other regions.[54] Some restaurant industry observers agreed with the TPF assessment of the products and separately stated other sauces and ingredients could be used to create variations in the US and other markets.[55] Eventually, the sandwiches were discontinued, with the Sweet Ride and Mango Jammin burgers the first to be removed from the menu.[56]

Product variants

All of the BK Crown Jewels sandwiches are served on a Kaiser roll; the beef based sandwiches use a Whopper patty and the chicken ones use a TenderCrisp or TenderGrill fillet.[57]

Burgers
Hell Raiser – The Hell Raiser has bacon, relish, aioli, avocado (guacamole), lettuce, tomato and onions.
Blazing Saddle – The Blazing Saddle features bacon, relish, aioli, a Cajun spiced sauce, lettuce, tomato and onions.
Sweet Ride – The Sweet Ride sandwich is made with a Whopper patty, bacon, aioli, a mango-lime sauce, avocado (guacamole), lettuce, tomato and onions.
Chicken

Product variants

All of the BK Crown Jewels sandwiches are served on a Kaiser roll; the beef based sandwiches use a Whopper patty and the chicken ones use a TenderCrisp or TenderGrill fillet.[57]

Burgers
Hell Raiser – The Hell Raiser has bacon, relish, aioli, avocado (guacamole), lettuce, tomato and onions.
Blazing Saddle – The Blazing Saddle features bacon, relish, aioli, a Cajun spiced sauce, lettuce, tomato and onions.
Sweet Ride – The Sweet Ride sandwich is made with a Whopper patty, bacon, aioli, a mango-lime sauce, avocado (guacamole), lettuce, tomato and onions.
Chicken
Blast Off – The Blast Off Crown Jewel sandwich has a TenderCrisp fillet and shares the same toppings as the Hell Raiser minus the aioli.

King's Collection

The King's Collection was first introduced in 2010 in response to a new line of Angus-based sandwiches from McDonald's New Zealand.[58] The new sandwich line was part of a co-branded partnership with AngusPure, an Australian brand of grass-fed, organic beef,[59] and condiment supplier Heinz.[60]

serving size	1 sandwich (277 g)
kcal	770
opt1n	Energy from fat
opt1v	450 kcal
fat	50 g
satfat	21 g
transfat	5 g
opt2n

History

North America

Sirloin Steak sandwich

Advertising

North America

See also

References

Back Porch Grillers

The Angus Burger

Steakhouse Burger

Steakhouse XT

Chef's Choice Burger

A1 Ultimate Bacon Cheeseburger

Sirloin Steak sandwich

Back Porch Grillers

The Angus Burger

Steakhouse Burger

Steakhouse XT

Chef's Choice Burger

A1 Ultimate Bacon Cheeseburger

Europe

The Aberdeen Angus burger

The $190 Burger

The Lamb Flatbread burger

The Aberdeen Angus burger

The $190 Burger

The Lamb Flatbread burger

New Zealand

Crown Jewels

Product variants

Product variants

King's Collection

Crown Jewels

Product variants

Product variants

King's Collection

Asia

Competitive products

Europe

New Zealand