Burger King, desperate to recover after losing the No. 2 industry spot to Wendy's (WEN +0.40%), has a new menu.
Actually, call it a McMenu. That's because most of the 10 new items on the menu can already be found at McDonald's (MCD +0.65%).
The Caesar salad with grilled chicken and dressing? Check. The crispy chicken snack wrap? Check. Honey mustard snack wrap? Check. Strawberry banana smoothie, mocha frappe and caramel frappe? You got it.
In fact, the only new menu item that doesn't seem to have a McDonald's counterpart is the apple and cranberry salad with grilled chicken.
It's no surprise that Burger King would delve so deeply into its rival's menu. McDonald's has been crushing the King -- and Wendy's, for that matter -- for years. Even when the country fell into a brutal recession, McDonald's knew exactly the right strategy, while Burger King floundered.
So now, Burger King is trying to overhaul its image, its strategy and its menu. Its food will be healthier and lighter. And as a result, according to the Associated Press, the company is moving away from its longtime focus on one customer: the young man.
Next up is a remodeling of its aging restaurants. That's a little bit of a problem, since 90% of the U.S. locations are owned by franchisees -- and they're the ones who will pay for the makeover. Burger King is offering any willing franchisees a 50% discount on their annual $50,000 franchise fee, the AP reports.
Burger King wants the new restaurants to have a more modern look with leather armchairs and warmer lighting. Even the employees have a new uniform made of a more elegant gray color.
After that comes the selling of the new Burger King. The company has ordered up its biggest marketing campaign in history, and will feature the likes of David Beckham and Jay Leno. It's hard to imagine that David Beckham has ever eaten a Whopper in his life, but he will be telling us to soon.
The problem with Burger King looking more like McDonald's is, well, why not just go to McDonald's? Burger King needs to either make its food taste better or make it much cheaper. But something tells me McDonald's isn't too worried.
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They will never top McDonalds. I live near both of them and everyone goes to Mcdonalds, while Burger King stays vacant.
