Step aside McDonald’s. This week, Burger King takes the headlines. And by the way, burgers are our national dish. Deny it all you want, but it’s the truth. Anyway, I thought the first BK headline was big—the chain is being sold for $4 billion. But before I could even fathom the price, they announced a new breakfast menu with nine new items.
Quick-serves began competing for the breakfast dollar just a few years ago, and it’s interesting to watch it play out, especially since the standard American breakfast is so short on variety. So what makes a new breakfast menu at BK any different than what it already had or what the next guy has? Well, let’s look. Here are some features of the new menu:
· BK Breakfast Ciabatta Club Sandwich. A club sandwich for breakfast with trendy whole-grain ciabatta bread. That seems breakfast fresh. It has eggs, tomatoes, ham, bacon American cheese and smoky tomato sauce. Smoky, huh? OK. The price is $2.89.
· Four-piece Mini Blueberry Biscuits. That’s playing on two rages. Blueberries are becoming quite popular because of the health connection, and mini anythings are hip. What I like about this is that they come with a side of vanilla icing for dipping. That’s the touch I’m looking for.
· They have a few platters that are too boring for words, so, moving on…
· Their much-anticipated introduction of Seattle’s Best Coffee—a Starbuck’s-owned brand. I think that shows some savvy on the part of BK and Starbuck’s. Iced coffee versions include mocha and vanilla.
Now, what you don’t see on this menu is anything that smacks of healthy. That might be OK for them, depending on their target audience. I looked online for that piece of info. One source said BK’s target is moms with small kids. Another said males aged 18-35 who eat fast food 9 to 16 times per month. Let’s vote. I’ll guess males. In that case, they aren’t the demographic looking for healthy breakfast. So, good for BK for not putting a token smoothie on the menu. (If you want a smoothie, there’s probably a McDonald’s closer to you anyway.)
So Burger King has it going on this week. Applause. Now, can we talk about that frightening Burger King on their commercials? Those should only be shown after 9 p.m. after the kids have already gone to bed.
Jody Shee
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