http://money.cnn.com/2004/01/13/new....reut/index.htm


Burger King expands menu

No. 2 burger chain to offer steak, chicken, shrimp-topped salads as it adds high-protein offerings.
January 13, 2004: 8:59 AM EST



NEW YORK (Reuters) - Burger King plans to let its customers eat steak, along with grilled shrimp and chicken-topped salad as the company catches-up with competitors in a bid to attract high-protein dieters.

The Miami-based company Tuesday said it was expanding its menu for the second time since September with offerings aimed at followers of the protein-rich Atkins diet, and similar weight-loss plans like the South Beach and Zone diets.

Privately held Burger King, the No. 2 burger chain behind McDonald's Corp. (MCD: Research, Estimates), is trying to improve sales and reverse a decline of 22 percent in customer traffic during the previous six years.

The menu changes reflect similar measures taken by McDonald's, which credits its meal-sized salads with turning around sales at its struggling U.S. restaurants.


In the wake of the popular protein diet wave, Burger King continues efforts to capitalize on its fire-grill image, setting itself apart from restaurants that fry meat.

By spring, Burger King will add a one-third pound Angus beefburger to its menu, in addition to steak strip, shrimp and chicken strip salad offerings.

"We may not have been the first, but we feel like we're now clearly offering the preferred burger in the industry," both for meat indulgers and low-carb dieters, said Russ Klein, the company's chief global marketing strategist.

Burger King added three low-fat chicken baguette choices to its menu in September, each containing fewer than five grams of fat.

The company is also kicking off an advertising campaign that highlights its Whopper as a low-carbohydrate option when the bun is removed.

Like fast-food rivals McDonald's andYum Brands Inc. (YUM: Research, Estimates), which operates the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains, Burger King faces growing competition from fast-casual chains that are responding to consumers' desire for fresher, healthier foods.

Burger King, which was bought in December 2002 by an investor group led by Texas Pacific Group, had $11.3 billion in system-wide sales in fiscal 2002.

burger king was also featured on fox news this morning. it wasn't a big deal, but they said that all sandwiches are now available on a platter to be served with a fork and knife!

By Associated Press
Published January 13, 2004, 9:11 AM CST

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Burger King Corp. is joining the low-carbohydrate parade by offering bunless Whopper hamburgers and, soon, salads featuring steak, chicken and shrimp.

The bunless sandwiches, which will be available nationwide beginning Tuesday, will come in plastic salad bowls, with knife and fork.

Dieters also will be able to order Whopper meals that substitute salads for French fries and bottled water for soft drinks.

Burger King, the nation's No. 2 hamburger chain, suggests that its restaurants charge the same for burgers with or without the bun. Because most of its stores are franchised, the company cannot mandate prices in them.

While bunless burgers will be available in all 8,000 U.S. restaurants immediately, the new salad line will debut in phases. Those featuring chicken and shrimp will roll out in February and March, but steak versions won't appear systemwide until May.

"It took us a little longer to get the quality we wanted," Russ Klein, Burger King's chief global marketing officer, said of the sirloin steak strips option.

Burger King's introduction of low-carb fare follows that of some competitors. CKE Restaurants Inc.'s Hardee's and Carl's Jr. chains feature burgers wrapped in lettuce.

McDonald's Corp. restaurants in New York City have posters and brochures advising customers how they can lower their carbohydrate intake by modifying what they order. Wendy's International Inc. has similar nutritional information posted on the Web.

Burger King also is debuting a Web site, www.haveityourway.com, that shows how many carbohydrates, calories and fat each meal component contains.

One Midwestern Burger King franchisee who asked not to be identified said that customers had been coming into his restaurants for years ordering Whoppers without the buns, "so all we're doing is formalizing a process."

Burger King is owned by a group of investor firms, including Texas Pacific Group, Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners.

I like the salad idea. I hardly ever eat out but it's nice to know I actually have a healthy choice in fast food if I want too.

Some of the Burger King's allowed me to buy just the patty for 99 cents instead of buying a $3.00 whopper and throwing most everything away. One Whopper patty is not very much. But I will not pay $9.00 for three whoppers and throw everything away.