Burger buyers want thicker patties and world peace
Burger buyers鈥� shift from quick-service restaurants to 鈥渂etter burger鈥� fast-casual restaurants continues, and what many are after is simply a thicker burger, according to the 鈥淏urger and Chicken Restaurants 2015 Report鈥� from Mintel in the UK.
Mintel finds that 7% of British burger fans (meaning they have visited a QSR in the past three months) say they have switched to what Mintel calls 鈥済ourmet鈥� burger restaurants (an overused, ill-defined term I don鈥檛 use) and what I call 鈥渂etter burger鈥� concepts. The share of defectors rises to 12% among those ages 16 to 34.
Fully half (52%) of these QSR burger customers say they would be interested in trying more upscale burgers from QSRs. What improvement are they most interested in? Thicker burger patties was the choice of 29% (and a higher percentage of the 16-34 cohort) while 28% said they鈥檇 be interested in meats other than beef. More toppings is the goal of 26%, but 24% are more concerned with the bun, which they would be interested in having be premium bread. One in five (19%) wants a bigger variety of sauce and dip options.
Mintel estimates the UK burger bar market will grow by 4.5% this year to sales of 拢3.2 billion ($4.9 billion). Between 2015 and 2020 Mintel sees 19% growth to 拢3.8 billion.
Says Richard Ford, Senior Food and Drink Analyst at Mintel: 鈥淭he gourmet burger trend continues seemingly unabated, adding value and interest to the burger market. Gourmet burgers have prospered during the economic downturn through their status as an affordable meal that still offers indulgence. The ongoing expansion of 鈥榖etter burger鈥� restaurants continues to add value to the market by encouraging trading up. Offering thicker burgers and a greater range of patty meats should provide burger operators with opportunities to further entice customers and maintain their interest.鈥�
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In other news,聽惭肠顿辞苍补濒诲鈥檚聽set Oct. 6, 2015, as the rollout date for introduction of all-day breakfast across the U.S.. It will be the just-10-items breakfast menu it began testing in April in San Diego. The October expansion had been聽聽in July.
The end of October also will see the completed rollout of a casual-dining-style table-service option at all 1,250 惭肠顿辞苍补濒诲鈥檚 restaurants in the U.K. Traditional counter and drive-thru ordering will continue. Digital ordering kiosks also will spread though the system and the menu will be reshaped yet again in October with a new line of wraps (barbecue, sweet chili, and hot Peri Peri chicken) and聽. Other QSRS have offered pulled pork but the UK intro will be 惭肠顿辞苍补濒诲鈥檚 first.
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厂辞听Burger King聽is moving ahead with its Sept. 21 鈥淧eace Burger鈥� even if 惭肠顿辞苍补濒诲鈥檚 doesn鈥檛 play along, which was obvious since it already had packaging and uniforms and such prepared. Burger King is riding this PR pony as far as it can go.
Burger King has released a new 鈥渙pen letter鈥� addressed not just to 惭肠顿辞苍补濒诲鈥檚 but also to every other chain that has tried to jump on the bandwagon and get in the game. 鈥淪o Denny鈥檚, Wayback Burgers Krystal and Giraffas, we鈥檇 like to build on your individual proposals to collaborate on Peace Day, Sept. 21, 2015,鈥� the letter announces. 鈥淥ur idea would be that we all come together to create a burger that combines a key ingredient from each of our signature sandwiches.鈥� The result: the Peace Day Burger.
Not surprisingly, Burger King says it already is building a pop-up restaurant for Peace Day as the place for its 鈥渂urger merger.鈥�
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