I’m still waiting for Wendy’s to roll out their “Where’s the BEEF” campaign again…
Seriously – while Burger King does sell chicken sandwiches and other stuff, they are a BURGER joint. Burgers – that’s their bread and butter (tee-hee!). Burgers – a bun, condiments – and BEEF! That’s a hamburger and not a “plant sandwich”. Once again the Left, who really do want to take away our pickups, burgers, guns (free speech, property, wealth, free association, choice of where to live, our homes, energy provides, the rest of our grocery lists….you get the idea), who believe they know best for everyone has been pushing this mal-named concoction for a while.
BUT, reality of things fake are starting to bit them (reformatted, emphasis mine):
Demand has leveled off for the plant-based sandwich. Burger King is cutting the price of its faux-meat burger as sales start to dip following last year’s introduction.
Carrols Restaurant Group Inc., the biggest Burger King franchisee in the U.S., said sales tapered off to about 28 Impossible Whoppers daily per store — down from 32 previously. The company, which has more than 1,000 Burger King locations, said sales appear to be stabilizing at that level. The sandwich was recently added to the chain’s two-for-$6 discount menu on a temporary basis. That compares to the previous suggested price of $5.59 per sandwich.
50% off – well, that’s a flame broiled discount for you! From a leader on the board to the “also-ran” menu in short order. For all of the hype and marketing of this bastardization of the English Language to mollify the PC / Vegan crowd, look at those numbers: 32 down to 28 per day. Per restaurant. Now, how many REAL beef burgers are actually sold at each store? I don’t know but I think I’m right on the bun if I were to say that even 32 lyin’ burgers are hardly even a rounding error.
Sidenote: Groksters and Commenters that have worked in such places – how many burgers (a range is fine) would an outlet like this should be expected to sell?
But, even with rotting sales, Progressives are know for ignoring actual results:
The slowdown is not stopping the chain from continuing to use the item as a lure for diners, however. More promotions and ads are coming for Impossible Foods Inc. items, Carrols Chief Executive Officer Daniel Accordino said at a conference. “That plant-based platform will be advertised and will be expanded on the Burger King marketing calendar in 2020,” he said, noting that there will be an expansion of the Impossible Whopper line this year, and that the company is testing the Impossible Whopper Jr. and Impossible Sausage.
Dominic Flis, a Burger King owner in Little Rock, Ark., said that Impossible Whopper sales have recently dipped to fewer than 20 per store a day, compared with 30 a day when it was first introduced. He may now be selling it at a loss, he said. “It’s definitely compressing the margin,” he said.
McDonalds and Wendy’s are giggling (or not as they are wanting onto the faux meat chuck wagon as well). But, someone at Burger King has to apply this spin and this guy obviously got the short (soggy paper based) straw:
Burger King’s plant-based Whopper “continues to exceed expectations, drive traffic to our restaurants and attract new incremental guests,” Chris Finazzo, president of the chain’s Americas region, said in a statement. “We continue to see high levels of repeat restaurant visits, showing that guests are enjoying the Impossible Whopper and returning for more over and over again.”
…Burger King, owned by Restaurant Brands International Inc., introduced the meat alternative nationwide last year after a successful test in St. Louis. The company said in October that the sandwich was a “huge hit” and helped U.S. comparable sales, a closely watched measure, climb 5% in the third quarter.
If your sales are 30/32 dropping to 28/20 per day, even a drunk could step over those expectations. I do have to ask – is part of those expectations is to have your franchisees lose money (that “He may now be selling it at a loss” bit?). And it was a HUGE hit, why are you putting it on the Cheapo Menu? Do you really think we are this stupid?
I’ll leave it with this:
Despite the rising popularity of faux meat, Americans are also eating more real meat than ever. Total red meat and poultry consumption is expected to rise to 225.6 pounds per person this year from 224.3 pounds in 2019, according to USDA data. Even at Burger King, there’s no evidence that the meat-free option has led to less meat consumption.
No legume based “red meat” need apply
(H/T: Union Leader)
