In these tough economic times, the value menu has become an important component in the fast food business. McDonald’s has had their $1.00 double cheeseburger in place on their value menu for quite some time and it had always been a strong seller. Wendy’s answered that by adding the stackers to their menu and, recently, Burger King upped the ante by knocking their double cheeseburger down to $1.00 and adding it to their value menu.
Burger king’s move has caused quite a stir within their franchise system. Franchise owners have claimed they are losing about a dime every time they sell one of their double cheeseburgers. McDonald’s franchise owners had similar issues, which were partly addressed by the fast food giant taking a slice of cheese off of the double cheeseburger and re-branding it the McDouble.
Truth be told, Burger King’s $1.00 double cheeseburger is a pretty good deal. Their burger is larger than the McDonald’s equivalent and, personally, I think it’s a better tasting burger. Many Burger Kings are also offering the double bacon cheeseburger at 2/$3.00 deals, which, again, is a pretty good deal.
The way Burger King probably has to look at this is that these specials will, hopefully, end up being loss leaders, with people adding to those items, therefore increasing overall sales. As a chain, Burger King has been experiencing somewhat of an identity crisis for years. These value meal additions are strong enough to draw people in. From there, it will be up to the execs at Burger King to take advantage of it.
