Burger King Menu Adds Mystery Item’s Whopper

Burger King has fallen to third place in the burger wars behind market leader McDonald’s (MCD) – Get the McDonald’s Corporation report and Wendy’s (MAGNIFYING GLASS) – Get the Wendy’s Company report (The).

It’s a sad situation for a company that was once the Pepsi to McDonald’s Coke, the clear number two in a two-man race. Basically, in the 80s and 90s, McDonald’s was the tasteless incumbent that stuck to its tried-and-true menu while Restaurant Brands International (RSQ) – Get the report from Restaurant Brands International Inc. Burger King is innovating and trying to shake up the fast-food burger formula.

It almost seems silly when you think of the weird menu items fast food chains are now trying, but it was bold in the 1980s when Burger King added its “long” chicken parmesan, an ill-advised veal version, and even a ham and cheese sandwich. This was before chicken nuggets made their way onto fast food menus when everything new seemed new.

Once upon a time, the Croissan’wich, a breakfast sandwich served on a croissant, seemed incredibly daring. Now, however, Burger King has lost its way and turned to using its iconic Whopper sandwich to reinvigorate its brand.

The company has added so many limited-edition Whoppers to its menu that it’s hard for fans to keep up. This has included everything from legit ideas like the Whopper Melts line to novelties like Angry Whopper and a short-lived line of really weird Whoppers aimed at pregnant women.

Burger King didn’t fall to third place for lack of trying new ideas and now it has another – a real mystery – on its menu.

Burger King wants you to guess

It seems counter-intuitive to sell customers something they don’t know what they’re getting. People may love mysteries, but that’s usually not true when it comes to food. Nobody wants a cheeseburger with a “mystery sauce,” but that same logic doesn’t seem to apply to drinks.

Or, at least, Burger King doesn’t think so because it added a mysterious frozen drink to its menu, to chew reported.

“Burger King has been spotted serving a new green colored Fanta Mystery flavor called Frozen What The Fanta. According to sources, the mystery new flavor will replace Frozen Minute Maid Strawberry Lemonade in restaurants nationwide beginning July 18, 2022,” the website reported.

The new flavor, whatever it is, is part of a bigger Fanta promotion.

“Just this week, Fanta announced the launch of new mystery flavors ‘What The Fanta’, where the soda brand is offering a variety of mystery flavors in different formats at retail stores and restaurants nationwide (like BK) – y including 20oz bottles, Coke-Cola Freestyle fountain dispensers and frozen formulations,” Chewboom explained.

Keep Shaking Burger King Menu

Burger King must do something to change its fortunes. It lost relevance in its battle with McDonald’s and Wendy’s. The chain has suffered trying to build an identity where it’s not the brave number two offering a premium product – it’s really Wendy’s. Instead, the chain has become just another choice in a very crowded market.

These are issues that Restaurant Brands International CEO Jose CIl addressed during his company’s first-quarter earnings call.

“Now moving on to Burger King US 2022 marks the start of Burger Kings’ multi-year plan to reclaim the flame. Last quarter, Tom took us through some of the critical near-term initiatives the team has been focusing on to improve the overall customer experience, advance brand growth, and drive long-term sustainable sales. Although the benefits of many of these initiatives are expected to begin to take effect in the second half of the year, we are encouraged to see progress this quarter and want to share a few highlights,” he said.

She outlined some of the brand’s strategy on the call.

“First, we have made good progress in our efforts to modernize and reposition the brand,” he said. “…This quarter, we demonstrated our balanced approach to menu innovation and value for money while keeping our core capital, the Whopper, in mind.”