010454 Burger King Changing Menu With New Value MealsApril 22, 2001Chicago - No. 2 U.S. hamburger chain Burger King Corp. said it will expand its bundled menu offerings with additional sizing and stronger promotions for its popular Value Meals, beginning with a new national program called “Make It A Meal for 99 Cents.” Burger King, a unit of London-based beverage conglomerate Diageo Plc, said it is rolling out the promotion Monday, focusing on a series of Value Meals that feature Burger King's flame-broiled Whopper hamburger sandwich line. The new three-tiered Value Meal program, which adds the large size to the company's existing medium- and king-size meal offerings, includes a permanent change to the menu boards at Burger King's 8,300 U.S. restaurants, the Miami- based company said. The boards will now clearly post the pricing for each Value Meal size. The new effort, designed to more clearly outline meal options for the customer, is expected to boost Burger King's sales, which this year have flagged in the highly competitive U.S. market. McDonald's Corp. is the U.S. industry leader. “What we wanted to do was to really give consumers more choices, to make it easier for them to buy the Value Meal that was appropriate for their size appetite,” said Dana Frydman, Burger King's senior director of product marketing. During the four-week introductory promotion, customers who buy any sandwich from the Whopper line, including a Whopper, Double Whopper or Whopper Jr., can get a medium-sized value meal for only 99 cents beyond the sandwich's recommended pricing, a 50-cents savings over the meal's typical pricing. A medium-sized Whopper Value Meal costs usually costs $3.39, a savings of more than 60 cents if the items were bought separately. Under the promotion, customers can also trade up to a large Value Meal for 40 cents more or a king-sized Value Meal for an additional 80 cents beyond that. “It takes the suggested selling burden away from the cashier,” Frydman said. It also speeds the ordering process, which is critical at the drive-thru window, which now accounts for about 60% of Burger King's U.S. sales, she said. The “Make it a Meal for 99 Cents” program will be supported by national TV spots created by McCann Erickson, which handles Burger King's general market advertising. Value Meals account for more than 50% of Burger King's U.S. sales, which were $8.7 billion in fiscal 2000 out of a total of $11.4 billion.
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