Burger King’s Fortunes Turn-Around At The Expense Of McDonald’s?

The breakfast wars may be bravely fought by McDonald’s and Taco Bell, however, another fast–food joint; Burger King has been quietly consolidating its position.

Burger King managed to turn–around its fortunes in the first quarter of 2014. The same–store sales have grown marginally for the franchisee. Though the sale has increased by just 0.1%, considering the fact the company had witnessed a fall of 0.9% in 2013, this can surely considered as a positive development.

Burger King has openly attributed majority of the success to its Big King Sandwich, which is needless to say a beefed up version of its largest burger. However, what’s even more interesting is the fact that the Big King Sandwich eerily resembles McDonald’s two-beef-patty champion, the Big Mac.

In fact, Burger King had knowingly attempted to clone the original Big Mac by increasing the size of the Big King Sandwich, which is now 0.8 Ounces (@23 grams) heavier. The Big King Sandwich has become so popular that Burger King added the chicken version as well, unimaginatively naming it Chicken Big King.

Hence it is now amply clear that Burger King’s success lies in aping and later improving upon the recipe that McDonald’s perfected. Now it will crucial to see what McDonald’s will do to not only protect its turf but lure back its lost customers.

It’s no secret that the Golden Arches has been getting tough competition from the likes of Taco Bell. Both have been engrossed in all out wars to lure breakfast eaters. Here too, McDonald’s original Egg Muffins are now under attack from Taco Bell’s revamped menu. Though food critics have been arguing that the latter did not consider popular food habits before going for the overhaul, the numbers are in favor of Taco Bell.

Burger King’s successful attack on McDonald’s will eventually result in the latter offering bigger and better deals to customers. What began with a free cup of coffee, could soon escalate into more BOGO (Buy One Get One) offers, says Darren Tristano, an executive vice president at restaurant industry consulting group Technomic, “To remain competitive with Burger King, McDonald’s will aggressively promote BOGO [buy one get one] or ‘two for’ promotions to compete on value and keep competitors from stealing share,” reported Business Week.

For Burger King to gain even more sales, the pathway has been inadvertently pointed by McDonald’s itself. The company seems to have done a complete U–Turn and is now re–looking at classic favorites like Big Mac, fries, Chicken McNuggets, McMuffins, which has generated 40% of its entire revenues. Hence Burger King could either take–up relatively abandoned menu items like the McWrap and Mighty Wings or simply mimic what McDonald’s is offering.

[Images Via Bing]