Burger King's Popular Meal Deal Is Being Extended As Sales Decline
The so-called "value wars" have been taking the fast-food industry by storm all summer—and they're not over just yet. After seeing its new affordable meal deal become a major hit with customers, Burger King has decided to extend the promotion into the fall.
The burger chain's $5 Your Way Meal officially hit menus on June 10, offering customers a four-piece order of chicken nuggets (190 calories), french fries (300 calories per small order), a soft drink, and their choice of either a Whopper Jr. (330 calories), Chicken Jr. (440 calories), or bacon cheeseburger (340 calories) for just a few dollars. Burger King initially said that the bundle would stick around through the end of the summer, though it didn't provide an exact end date.
Now, Burger King wants to keep the $5 Your Way Meal on menus for much longer than initially planned. Josh Kobza, CEO of Burger King's parent company Restaurant Brands International (RBI), announced during an Aug. 8 earnings call that they plan to extend the promotion into October due to its popularity and strong value proposition.
"We feel like it is working perfectly for the business, and we think customers are loving it," Kobza said. "So we're going to keep that going because we think we have the right balance."
Burger King's decision to offer its $5 Your Way Meal for an extended period follows a difficult quarter for the chain. RBI reported a 0.1% drop in Burger King's same-store sales in the quarter that ended on June 30. Kobza admitted during the call that the chain's performance was "clearly softer than we aspire to."
The decline is particularly notable considering that Burger King's same-store sales grew by 3.8% in the previous quarter, which the chain attributed to its ongoing $400 million Reclaim the Flame investment initiative. The campaign includes ramped-up marketing, menu enhancements, restaurant remodels, operational improvements, and other changes to improve Burger King's profitability and reputation.
RBI is still confident in Burger King's comeback efforts despite the sales dip last quarter. The company plans to continue focusing on value and Reclaim the Flame in the hopes of securing long-term success for the fast-food chain.
"It may take time to see the full impact of our Burger King investments flow through. And I'm confident in the brand's path forward, especially given the focus of our multi-year plans and the strong alignment our team has built with our franchisees," Kobza said. "I think we'll find that the shorter-term pressures being felt by the [quick-service restaurant] industry are masking some pretty incredible changes at Burger King that will deliver long-term rewards."
Burger King isn't the only chain that recently decided to extend a value promotion due to customer demand. Late last month, McDonald's announced that most of its franchisees had decided to keep the chain's successful new $5 Meal Deal around for longer than initially expected. Some operators may continue to offer the affordable bundle through August, though the timetables could vary, Bloomberg News reported.
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