Burger King is removing items from its menu and offering fewer discounts

Burger King is removing its flagship Whopper from its core discount menu.

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• Burger King is cutting back on items, offering fewer discounts, and putting up prices.
• This includes removing its flagship Whopper from its core discount menu.
• Reuters reported that the chain would stop selling sundaes, whipped toppings, and chocolate milk.

Burger King is simplifying its menu and offering fewer discounts as inflation bites.

This includes its flagship Whopper, which the burger chain has now removed from its core discount menu.

It joins other fast-food chains who have also cut back on their value menus and put up prices during the pandemic as they seek to cope with a combination of higher wages and the increased costs of goods.

"At the end of December, we rolled out our first of two waves of menu simplification, removing low-volume items," Tom Curtis, Burger King US and Canada President, said Tuesday at the earnings calls of parent company Restaurant Brands International (RBI). This was so the burger brand could focus on its most popular items, he said.

Curtis said that this had had "no material impact" on comparable sales and that the chain was "confident" that focusing on its core menu would drive guest retention and frequency.

Burger King didn't respond to Insider's request for comment on when the second menu simplification was expected and which menu items would be scrapped. Reuters reported that the chain would stop selling sundaes, whipped toppings, and chocolate milk.

As well as removing some items, Burger King also lifted price caps on other items in late 2021, Curtis said at the call. This included removing the Whopper from the chain's core discount menu, with RBI CEO José Cil telling Reuters that the burger had been on the discount menu "for too long."

"We'll look for opportunity for some incremental discounting there in the future, but it won't be every single day," Curtis said at the earnings call.

Curtis told investors that Burger King had "good" price elasticity in some areas and that some of its franchisees had raised prices but still kept visitor numbers up.

Desire for better pay and conditions in the wake of the pandemic has driven quit levels among restaurant staff to record highs, forcing hospitality sector companies to hike wages and improve staff benefits to retain employees. Coupled with the rising costs of goods – including a 13% increase in the price of ground beef in 2021 – and supply-chain disruptions, many restaurants have had to charge customers more to offset their own growing costs.

Cil said Tuesday that RBI had lifted prices at each of its brands – Burger King, Popeyes, Tim Hortons, and Firehouse Subs – in 2021, and that it expected to raise prices again in 2022 "given the level of commodity cost and labor inflation we're seeing."

Burger King is also streamlining some of its products and simplifying menu boards to make production by staff, and ordering by diners, easier, Curtis said. This was leading to higher order accuracy and overall satisfaction, he said.

Burger King ultimately hopes to make around $500 million in savings through annualized price and price-related efficiencies, Curtis said.

Burger King's total revenues for 2021 grew 13% to $1.8 billion, while its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization grew 24% to just over $1 billion.

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