Burger King launches the new $5 Your Way Meal just as Wendy's and McDonald's roll out affordable offers. Is there a fast food price war happening?
$5 Your Way Meal
According to USA Today, Burger King has rolled out a new discounted value menu dubbed the $5 Your Way Meal amid rising costs and inflation. The $5 Your Way Meal includes a choice of 3 sandos, nuggets, small fries, and a small drink, all for just half a tenner. It's no coincidence that this promotion comes on the heels of Wendy's, McDonald's, and Arby's launching their own low-price meal combos. BK is claiming they will be beating McDs to market with their offer this June, but we'll see. We're pretty sure this will drive McDonald's (and others) to rush discounted meals to market. There's a price war at the fast food checkout counter, and the winner is you!
Courting Lost Customers
The new $5 Your Way Meal was created specifically to drive business during the economic uncertainty brought on by inflation and supply chain disruptions. Burger King has been quick to raise prices recently to offset spiking operating and ingredient costs that we are still seeing rise. As you might imagine, this choked off the amount of customers walking through Burger King's doors, so even if this promo loses them money in the short term, half the restaurant game is getting the diners through the front door, which they hope this will accomplish. This is all great for now, but the issue is, can quick-serve eateries get back to constantly low prices for quality flavors and decent portion sizes?
Customer Are Cranky
If we were Burger King at this point, though, we'd keep a close eye on the social comments and people's sentiments about the fact that big-boy casual dining spots are getting more expensive regularly. People are NOT happy. The people impacted worst are the folks who rely on affordable meals because they are on a fixed income. Say what you want about fast food, but a cheap burger and fries is better than going hungry for many low-income folks. It ain't Veuve and caviar, but it will do the job when you only have a five-spot left in your budget. Fast food is becoming less and less affordable as a low-ticket option. People are so upset, in fact, that at chains like Chipotle people are angrily walking up to their counters, ordering food, and then bailing on it mid-order. The social media comments have been ruthless in their ire over the constant price hikes, and ultimately, the continuous online chatter about rising costs is keeping people from ordering their next Whopper.
We'll see if this promo will bring people back and more importantly, if these affordable new products stick around. We hope so. We don't need another $18 Big Mac situation.
