Consumers can now enjoy a burrito-burger their way with Burger King’s newest item, the whopperito, which will be sold nationally on August 15. The creation has beef, tomatoes, onions, lettuce and pickles are nestled inside a flour tortilla. A queso sauce replaces the mayonnaise from the hamburger.
With savings-conscious consumers, food chains are competing fiercely with low-priced meal deals and are “beefing up” their advertising. The chain, owned by Restaurant Brands International Inc., reported second-quarter same-store sales and has been trying to use new fare to bring in more diners.
Earlier this year, Burger King started selling an Egg-Normous breakfast burrito, bursting with sausage, bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, cheese and picante sauce. Now enters the whopperito.
The Whopperito will cost $2.99 and be sold for three or four months, which is much cheaper than Chipotle Mexican Grill’s beef burritos that goes for $9 in New York and $7 in rural U.S. areas.
“It’s certainly one of the first times that we’ve tapped into the Tex-Mex category,” said Alex Macedo, the North American president of Burger King.
He stated that Tex-Mex was one of the fastest-growing food categories, believing that consumers like the freshness and mix of flavors associated with it.
The burrito-burger combo may also help to attract hungry Americans who are eating at places like Chipotle less after the several E. coli and norovirus outbreaks.
However, burger chains are finding mixed results when branching into the Mexican fare category. McDonald’s, for example, tried selling chicken fajita roll-ups at some of their Southern California restaurants. The item didn’t really take off, yet the chain still sells its breakfast burritos. Tim Hortons, also owned by Restaurant Brands, sells chicken and steak fajita wraps bathed in chipotle sauce, peppers, onions and cheese.
In addition, Chipotle, with their business idea of fast food not resembling the typical “fast food” experience, has been trying to charm patrons with coupons and loyalty program to earn free food. Despite trying to rebuild its consumer base, same-store sales tumbled 23.6 percent in the second quarter.
As Burger King seems to be influenced by Chipotle’s cuisine with its newest item, inspiration has also blossomed for the Mexican eatery who will launch a new concept called Tasty Made, opening this fall in Ohio. Tasty Made’s limited menu is comprised of hamburgers, French fries and milkshakes.
