Company Perspectives:
Burger King is flamed-broiled burgers, fries and soft drinks at a good value, served quickly and consistently by friendly people in clean surroundings.
Smith also turned his hand to the food served in his restaurants. He introduced the french fry technique that produced the more popular McDonald’s-type fry. In 1978, primarily in response to the appeal that newcomer Wendy’s had for adults, he introduced specialty sandwiches—fish, chicken, ham and cheese, and steak—to increase Burger King’s dinner trade. Offering the broadest menu in fast food did the trick, boosting traffic 15 percent. A more radical expansion for the Burger King menu came next. After McDonald’s proved that breakfast could be a profitable fast-food addition (offering a morning meal spread fixed costs over longer hours of operation) Smith began planning a breakfast menu in 1979. But Burger King had a problem with breakfast: its flame broilers could not be adapted as easily to breakfast entrees as McDonald’s grills could. Smith urged development of entrees that could be prepared on existing equipment instead of requiring special grills. He began testing breakfast foods in 1978, but it wasn’t until the Croissan’wich in 1983 and French Toast sticks in 1985 that Burger King had winning entries in the increasingly competitive breakfast market.