CASE STUDY: Burger King

The cooks were busy in the Burger King kitchen in 2016.
Every few months, they released a new item for the more
adventurous fast-food customers to try out.
At the end of January 2016, Burger King introduced new
Jalapeño Chicken Fries, Dr Pepper Shakes, and Oreo Irish Mint
Shakes. All three items were available for a limited time. The
Jalapeño Chicken Fries were a spicy twist on the original
Chicken Fries, made with white chicken meat and breaded
with jalapeño seasoning. The Dr Pepper Shake was a hand-
spun, creamy treat with the flavor of Dr Pepper. The Oreo
Irish Mint Shake was a new take on the Classic Oreo Shake
but with a minty flavor. It was hand spun and featured Oreo
cookie crumbles.
“Our guests can’t get enough of our spicy menu items, not to
mention our Chicken Fries, so we’re giving them more of
both with this new addition to our Chicken Fries lineup,” said
Alex Macedo, President, North America, for the Burger King
brand. “And if our Jalapeño Chicken Fries get a little too hot,
our Dr Pepper Shake or Oreo Irish Mint Shake is the perfect
way to cool off.”
Then in February, Burger King announced the addition of
flame-grilled hot dogs to the menu at participating restau-
rants nationwide. The hot dogs, named Grilled Dogs, are
made with 100 percent beef and are flame-grilled on the
same grill and using the same techniques as the Whopper
sandwich.
It is estimated that Americans eat over 20 billion hot dogs
each year. With the additional of Grilled Dogs to the menu,
Burger King will now serve hot dogs in more locations than
any other restaurant chain in the United States.
“The introduction of Grilled Dogs just made sense to our
guests and for our brand,” said Macedo. “We’re applying over
60 years of flame-grilling expertise with the Whopper sand-
wich to make Grilled Dogs the next great American icon.”
The Classic Grilled Dog is a flame-grilled hot dog topped with
ketchup, mustard, chopped onions, and relish, served on
a fluffy baked bun. The Chili Cheese Grilled Dog is a flame-
grilled hot dog topped with warm chili and shredded cheddar
cheese, and served on the same bun as the Classic. Both are
available separately or as a combo meal.
March brought another limited-time offering: The Angri-
est Whopper sandwich. The Angry Whopper sandwich was
a popular previous limited-time menu item. The Angriest
Whopper took it to another level, featuring flame-grilled beef,
thick-cut bacon, American cheese, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes,
crispy onion petals, jalapeños, creamy mayonnaise, and spicy
“angry sauce” all on a fiery red bun that had hot sauced baked
in.
After giving their customers’ stomachs a few months to settle,
Burger King was back at it again in June 2016. For a limited
time, they offered Mac n’ Cheetos, a collaboration venture
with Cheetos. The snack was a portable combination of
creamy mac n’ cheese covered with crispy Cheetos flavor. It
gave customers the unique experience of eating warm mac n’
cheese like they would a bag of chips.
“Mac n’ Cheetos are a doubly cheesy combination of warm
mac n’ cheese covered with that crispy Cheetos flavor every-
one loves,” said Axel Schwan, Executive Vice President and
Global Chief Marketing Officer for the Burger King brand.
“No one understands snacking better than Cheetos, and our
expertise at Burger King restaurants is serving guests on the
go, so it just made sense that we come together to reinvent
this favorite food like it’s never been done before.”
Burger King was founded in 1954 and is now the second-
largest fast food hamburger chain in the world.

Sources: B. Mogan, “Burger King Restaurants and the Cheetos Brand Unleash Very Cheesy Collaboration for Summer’16,” Burger King, June 27, 2016, accessed October 23, 2016, https://
www.bk.com/news-press/burger-king-restaurants-and-cheetos-brand-unleash-very-cheesy-collaboration-summer-’16; B. Mogan, “Burger King Restaurants Introduce New Jalapeno Chicken Fries
and Two New Shake Flavors,” Burger King, January 27, 2016, accessed October 23, 2016, https://www.bk.com/news-press/burger-king-restaurants-introduce-new-jalapeño-chicken-fries-and-two-
new-shake-flavors; B. Mogan, “Burger King Restaurants to become Largest Restaurant Chain in U.S. to Serve Flame-Grilled Hot Dogs,” Burger King, February 11, 2016, accessed October 23, 2016,
https://www. bk.com/news-press/burger-king-restaurants-become-largest-restaurant-chain-u-s-serve-flame-grilled-hot-dogs; B. Mogan, “New Angriest Whopper Sandwich with Red Bun Debuts at
Burger King Restaurants,” Burger King, March 30, 2016, accessed October 23, 2016, https://www.bk.com/news-press/new-angriest-whopper-sandwich-red-bun-debuts-burger-king-restaurants.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How does the Burger King brand distinguish it from its competitors? Would you say it is a global brand? Why or why not.
2. If a product makes it through a rigorous development process, will it be a success? Why or why not.
3. Should Burger King test market its new products, such as those described in this case? If not, why not? If so, how do you
suggest Burger King test market its new products?
4. Are there any products in the Burger King product mix you consider in the maturity stage? If so, what can Burger King do with
them, if anything?
5. What about this case is most important for marketing students to know and understand?