Whopperito: Burger King To Begin Offering New Whopper Burrito Nationwide
Burger King’s Whopperito will be available at locations nationwide beginning August 15. Although the specialty item, which combines the Whopper with a burrito, will only be available for a limited time, the fast-food giant confirmed it could become a regular menu item at a later date.
During a recent interview, which was published by Chicago Tribune, Burger King’s North American division President Alex Macedo explained why he believes the Whopperito will be a great success.
“It’s certainly one of the first times that we’ve tapped into the Tex-Mex category… It’s one of the fastest-growing categories — consumers like the freshness of it, they like the mix of flavors.”
Like the traditional Whopper sandwich, the Whopperito will contain ground beef, lettuce, onion, pickles, and tomatoes. However, the bun will be replaced with a flour tortilla and the condiments will be replaced with a tangy queso sauce.
Although Burger King’s Whopperito is described as “Tex-Mex” item, Macedo said the queso sauce is “not too spicy.” Instead, he said the specialty item is “funky, but… not polarizing.”
According to Macedo, the Whopperito was suggested by a Burger King franchisee, who owns stores in Ohio and Pennsylvania. As the product was successful in test markets, the company decided to offer the new sandwich nationwide.
In recent months, Burger King also introduced grilled hot dogs, Egg-Normous breakfast burritos, and deep-fried Mac n’ Cheetos. Although those products are still available at many locations, the company has introduced numerous other products, which ultimately failed.
As reported by Business Insider, some of the fast-food giant’s most memorable fails include the Enormous Omelette Sandwich, Burger Shots, Satisfries, and Shake-Em-Up fries.
According to the company website, Burger King, which was founded in 1954, is currently “the second largest fast food hamburger chain in the world,” serving “more than 11 million guests” each day.
Burger King takes aim at Chipotle fans with the Whopperito https://t.co/mKjRyoeNJq pic.twitter.com/u6AlPe4a0o
— Bloomberg (@business) August 8, 2016
Although Burger King continues to make a healthy profit, Restaurant Brands International, which owns the fast-food company, reported a 0.8 percent decrease in sales at Burger King locations throughout Canada and the United States during the second quarter, according to CS Monitor.
Syracuse.com suggests the Whopperito is Burger King’s attempt to cash in on the popularity of Tex-Mex products offered by other fast food companies including Chipotle Mexican Grill.
Interestingly, Chipotle, which suffered significant losses amid a highly publicized E. coli outbreak, will be opening a new restaurant in Lancaster, Ohio, which won’t sell any Tex-Mex items whatsoever. Instead, Tasty Made’s menu will focus on burgers and fries.
Burger King launches Whopperrito in U.S. outlets https://t.co/cb8X3ryEM2
— Reuters U.S. News (@ReutersUS) August 8, 2016
Burger King’s Whopperito, which will be available nationwide beginning next week, will initially appear on menus for a period of four months. Continued availability will depend on the popularity of the new product.
Although the Whopperito is only available in a limited market at this time, the product already has several critics.
FastCodeDesign writer Mark Wilson suggests the Whopperito simply does not deserve to be labeled as a burrito.
“The Whopperito is not a burrito, and Burger King has no business in the burrito business. Making a burrito is a lot more difficult than wrapping some crap in a flour tortilla and adding the suffix ‘ito’ to it. Or, okay, maybe it’s not. But still, the Whopperito is not a burrito.”
Newsweek writer Ryan Bort has a similar opinion about Burger King’s Whopperito, which he suggests “is as disgusting as it looks.”
It is unclear whether the unusual product will be a hit, and whether it will help boost the fast-food giant’s profits. However, Burger Kings Whopperito did well enough in test markets to convince company officials to offer it on their menu nationwide.
[Image via Shutterstock]
