Burger King's storied reputation
has slipped in recent years, but all that's about to change. From
new foods to new designs and more papers crowns than ever before, we can expect big
things from the King of fast food in 2024. Burger King's claim to fame is undoubtedly
the Whopper. The chain's well-known burger consists of a beef patty, often
smothered in mayonnaise and ketchup, surrounded by a sesame seed bun and
topped with tomato slices, pickles, and other popular condiments. There have been
many different Whopper variants introduced to the menu over the years, such as the
now-discontinued Fiesta Whopper or the bizarre Halloween Whopper. But 2024 is bringing
a whole new Whopper with a whole lot of bacon. "You've never had it your way like this." The Candied Bacon Whopper is the chain's
most recent take on their signature sandwich, featuring strips of crunchy candied
bacon and a sweet bacon jam served with garlic aioli and onions on a beef patty
sandwiched between the traditional sesame bun. This new, delicious-sounding burger became
available at Burger King locations across the nation on January 29, 2024. As of early February,
we're only a few days into its tenure on Burger King's menu, so only time will tell how excited
fans will be about this new product. However, an alleged employee for the restaurant gave
the sandwich a rave review on Reddit, and was met with a chorus of agreeable responses
from others who have gotten to try it. What's better than a crispy,
flavorful fish sandwich? A crispy, flavorful fish sandwich with a bit of a kick,
of course. Just in time for the Lenten season, Burger King will be releasing a brand-new
variation of its classic fish sandwich. Similar to the classic Big Fish, the Fiery Big
Fish will include a cut of crispy White Alaskan Pollock, pickles, lettuce, tartar sauce, and
a potato bun. What will set this new sandwich apart from its predecessor is a spicy glaze, which
will amp up the heat for consumers who crave it. The only downside is that unlike the classic Big
Fish sandwich, which is available year-round , the Fiery Big Fish will reportedly only be available
for a limited time. It's schedule to leave at the end of Lent, so don't let this catch slip through
your fingers. Some between February 14 and March 28, swing by your local Burger King and light your
mouth on fire with a fried filet of juicy fish. "Come on, it's a big fish! You gotta reel it in." It seems that most chain restaurants
have updated their building designs to increase their curb appeal in an
ever-modernizing world. Examples of this change are McDonald's sleek new grayscale
stylization and Taco Bell's decision to kick its classic curves and colors to the curb
in favor of dark new lines and angles. It seems that Burger King will reportedly be
jumping on the modernization train as well, remodeling itself in an attempt to become
more attractive to hungry passersby. At the end of 2023, news outlets
everywhere released photos of Burger King's new proposed store design,
which the company entitled "Sizzle." These buildings will be complete with subtle,
sleek walls and orange and red accents. While face-lifting restaurants over time is a
necessary and natural process for any business, it's an especially important undertaking
in Burger King's case as the company has traditionally lagged behind its fast food
competitors in the updating department. There are only a handful of the "new" Burger
Kings in operation nationwide as of early 2024, but the company's goal is to erect more and
more throughout the year. Customers should prepare themselves for the new look, as it
could be coming to a city near you very soon. According to ScrapeHero, as of December
5th, 2023, there were 6,778 total Burger King restaurant locations in the United States.
While many of these fall under the ownership of Burger King's parent company, Restaurant Brands
International Inc., a decent portion of them are owned and operated by franchisees. The largest
of these is Carrols Restaurant Group Inc., which, until January 2024, owned and operated
Burger King locations across 23 states. Now, Restaurant Brands has taken back the 1,022
locations previously run by Carrols Restaurant Group in a whopping $1 billion deal. While some
of these under-performing locations are to be shut down for good, the plan is for Restaurant
Brands to salvage, renovate, and remodel around 600 of the purchased locations, and eventually
resell them to driven, smaller-scale franchisees. "This is a seminal moment in time for
us to figure out which restaurants, um, have long-term viability." This decision holds with the company's 2022
announcement to dedicate itself to clean up its business from the ground up. Still, we
wish those at Restaurant Brands International, Inc. luck with this undertaking.
Simultaneously rapid-fire closing some locations while remodeling others
will be anything but an easy task. With plant-based protein's increase
in popularity in recent years, vegan and veggie-burger options are a valuable
addition to any fast food chain's menu. To capitalize on this trend and sustain their
efforts to diversify their customer base, Burger King decided to bring back an updated
version of its previously-discontinued black bean burger. However, as of early February
2024, it's only available in the U.K. VegNews reports that Burger
King's updated Ultimate Bean Burger officially hit menus in Europe on
January 3, acknowledging regional consumer demand for the highly-missed protein
option. Although this is hardly the first time a vegan-friendly patty has been
offered up by the chain, European consumers seem to think the new Ultimate Bean Burger
might be the best plant-based variant yet. In early 2024, a Reddit user posted
a thread inquiring if any Burger King customers had tried the Ultimate Bean Burger,
and responses were largely positive from those who had the opportunity to taste it. If you
happen to live somewhere near a Burger King location in the United Kingdom, consider
stopping in and giving it a try. After all, there are plenty around the world who will be
missing out on this vegan-friendly menu addition. Many adults today will likely have childhood
memories of eating at Burger King with a cardboard crown atop their head. Many of us
can still picture the act of putting on the paper headpiece covered in fake jewels
that came alongside our meals years ago, and the inexplicable excitement that came
with this simple offering. This year, we were thrilled to learn that Burger King will
be doubling down on their crown distribution. One of the company's goals with the coming
of the new year is to offer up a cardboard crown to every individual who walks
in the door, regardless of their age, while making the comment, "You rule!" This is
being done in an attempt to foster engagement, conversation, laughter, and enthusiasm in the
interactions between consumers and workers. It's an aim at increasing customer satisfaction, something Burger King has set its sights on as
it fights to crawl its way back to relevance once again. Will cardboard crowns be the way to
customer's hearts? We'll find out soon enough. The most celebrated deal coming out of Burger
King is its Whopper Wednesday promotion, where one day every week customers can snag
a Whopper at a discounted price. Recently, there has been noticeable confusion
surrounding this special day which seems to be stemming from the chain's mobile app. On a recent Reddit thread, a poster described
a strange scenario that occurred when trying to order a burger from the Burger King app.
The user reported that on the first Wednesday of January 2024, they tried to make use of
the Whopper Wednesday deal while ordering on the mobile app. However, not only had
the price of the Whopper Wednesday deal increased from $3 to $3.49, the option to
select the Impossible Whopper was not there. The user informed their girlfriend of the dilemma,
who proceeded to check her own Burger King app. Strangely, the app signed into her account
still offered the $3 Whopper and the Impossible alternative. The Redditor then proceeded to make
a new account on the app, from which they were able to find the original Whopper Wednesday
discount and order the food without issue. Weird Whopper-related scenarios were
confirmed by other responding users, as well, with some describing how different
prices sometimes show up on their phones compared to other users' devices who pickup at
the same restaurant location. Some speculate it's an app glitch, while others suggested
it might be caused by Burger King offering perks for veteran app users. Either way,
let's hope the franchise fixes these inconsistencies surrounding the previously
stable "Whopper Wednesday" price in 2024. "They say wash your hands. I say wash your phone too. Especially before ordering a
flame grilled Impossible Whopper." In addition to closing troublesome
restaurant locations and sprucing up existing ones through renovations,
part of Burger King's campaign for self-improvement also encompassed working
on its mobile app. According to CNBC, a reported $30 million out of the company's
$400 million budget set aside for repairs was intended to go specifically toward technological
app advancements. Considering all the problems consumers have been facing with the Burger King
mobile app, this could be money very well spent. Burger King app glitches are so common, they've
inspired countless threads and discussions on various online platforms like TikTok and Reddit.
Some users report receiving extra condiments they should have been charged for for free, while
others claim that their orders won't go through at all. All of this publicized discontent leaves
us to wonder if 2024 is the year Burger King will fix these issues for good. For customer
satisfaction's sake, we certainly hope it is. Minimum wage is a hot topic in the fast food
industry, and employees at places like McDonald's, Chipotle, and Burger King are generally
enjoying higher earnings than they have in the past. Salary.com reports that the average hourly
wage for a Burger King cashier sits around $17, but can be as high as $19. Considering
the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that $7.25 was the federal minimum
wage in the United States in 2018, it's easy to see how drastically paychecks
have increased in a short amount of time. Naturally, skyrocketing wages come at a
cost. To fill employee checks, the prices of the food products themselves must also go
up. As one aggravated user observed on Reddit, "At the local BKs, prices jumped on
many items by more than 10% (more like 15% in many cases) at the end of last
week. That's on top of all the price increases over the past year [or more]
and the decimation of the value menu." Many responded with angry comments, calling out
the chain for overpriced, lukewarm food. One user, however, brought up an important point, stating
that the restaurants increased wages has meant the company has likely cut more staff,
which in turn causes customers to wait for service for longer periods of time and less
quality control over the products being sold. It's a reality consumers should be prepared for.
In all likelihood, you may see the dollar amount beside your favorite menu item sliding upward
in 2024 to support the individual preparing it. As we've said, Burger King's progress has been
sliding backward in recent years. Clearly at some point, it dawned on corporate that the
franchise would need to make some changes if it wanted to remain competitive in the
fast-food scene. And they've been trying. All the way back in 2022, Burger King
announced its "Reclaim the Flame" initiative to the world — a strategy
that would entail a $400 million investment in upgrading locations
and closing under-performing ones, bettering its marketing, focusing on its
apps, and improving customer satisfaction. The plan was expected to take two years — and
here we are in 2024, in what should be the final moments before "Reclaim the Flame" reaches its
anticipated finish line. With everything we've just seen that Burger King is trying to do
to reinvent itself — new menu items, revamped storefronts, and much-needed changes to the mobile
app — it looks like that work is paying off. Will the plan do as it was intended in the
long run, and refuel the fire beneath the burger company's grills? We guess we'll have
to watch how the year unfolds to find out.
