Burger King's New $5 Deal Will Outdo McDonald's
The fast-food value wars are heating up as two major chains prepare to face off with competing $5 meal deals.
McDonald's has been gearing up to debut a new $5 value meal to win back budget-sensitive customers after facing a mountain of complaints about its prices in recent months. However, rival Burger King is set to outshine the Golden Arches by launching a similar value meal earlier and keeping it on the menu for much longer.
Burger King will soon bring back its $5 "Your Way Meal," a promotion that the chain has only offered on a limited basis in the past. Bloomberg was the first to report on the development on May 23, citing an internal company memo. However, Burger King has also confirmed the news in statements to several media outlets.
"Burger King is accelerating its value offers after three quarters of leading the industry in value traffic. We are bringing back our $5 'Your Way Meal' as agreed upon with our franchisees back in April," a spokesperson told Eat This, Not That!
While Burger King has yet to announce an exact return date for the meal, Bloomberg reported that it will arrive earlier than McDonald's new value bundle. The $5 Golden Arches meal is slated to hit menus on June 25 and stick around for about a month, per CNBC. Meanwhile, Burger King's Your Way Meal will reportedly remain available for several months.
The fact that Burger King's meal will stick around longer could give it an advantage over McDonald's in the value wars, especially since the contents of both meals are practically identical. An anonymous source told CNBC that Mickey D's $5 bundle will include 4-piece Chicken McNuggets (170 calories), fries (230 calories per small order), a drink, and the customer's choice of either a McChicken (400 calories) or McDouble (400 calories). Burger King's meal also includes fries (300 calories per small order), chicken nuggets (190 calories per four-piece order), a drink, and the customer's choice of one of three sandwiches, according to Bloomberg.
When contacted by Eat This, Not That!, a Burger King representative declined to share any additional details on what's included in the meal and when it will launch.
Like McDonald's and Burger King, many chains have been ramping up their value offerings to entice inflation-wary customers who've cut back on eating out. After Outback Steakhouse saw a 4.2% drop in domestic customer traffic and a 1.2% drop in same-store sales in the first quarter of 2024, company executives said the chain may roll out more value deals like the $19.99 steak and lobster pairing that returned in April.
Similarly, Kona Grill recently said it would promote value offers like its Happy Hour menus and $39 steak meal deal after seeing significant traffic and sales declines last quarter.
Even Wendy's joined the value wars this week with a new $3 breakfast deal that comes with a small order of Seasoned Potatoes (280 calories) and the customer's choice of either a Bacon, Egg & Cheese English Muffin (380 calories) or a Sausage, Egg & Cheese English Muffin (540 calories).
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