Burger King executives this week rolled out a new version of the Whopper after sustained customer complaints, and the burger king whopper changes replace the soft bun with a thicker, bakery style roll, introduce a creamier mayonnaise and move the sandwich from paper wrap into a clamshell box, the company said.
The company said the flame grilled beef patty remains unchanged. The new presentation also emphasizes freshly cut onions and tomatoes, crisp lettuce and tangier pickles, and the bun keeps its sesame seeds while gaining more lift and a glaze to hold seeds and improve visual appeal, according to Burger King’s head chef Amy Alarcon.
Burger King tested mayonnaise, buns and packaging for seven months and tried many ideas in the test kitchen, Alarcon said, including an upside down build where the beef patty is first, which the team found distracting. The clamshell box was chosen because it keeps the burger intact while retaining some heat and helping the cheese stay melty, she said.
The chain will roll the enhanced Whopper out to more than 7,000 US restaurants, the company said. Tom Curtis, president of Burger King US and Canada, described the effort as careful, telling customers the brand was not tearing up the playbook and instead was “putting our famous iconic burger in a tuxedo instead of a leisure suit,” as he summarized the changes.
Impact, Costs And Customer Feedback
The Whopper update follows a period of critical customer feedback about smashed sandwiches, cold food and inconsistent service that Burger King leaders said they addressed before changing its signature sandwich. Curtis gave out his phone number and spent hours daily on calls, taking roughly two weeks of customer contacts, which the company said helped shape the updates.
The enhanced Whopper will cost franchisees about $4,000 a year in additional investment, Burger King advised owners not to raise prices and suggested the move would drive sales. Robert Byrne, senior director of consumer research at Technomic, cautioned franchisees face pressure from labor and may find the extra spend difficult.
Company data cited a 3.2% rise in US same store sales in the most recent quarter, and analysts cited in company materials estimate the Whopper still represents a sizable share of core burger sales. Executives signaled further menu work is planned after patterns in customer calls, including frequent complaints about fries, Curtis said.
