Burger King has introduced a Spider Man-themed Whopper burger to coincide with the release of the upcoming ‘Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse’ movie.
The new Whopper is not dissimilar from the one fans have come to know, except it’s sandwiched between a red bun spotted with black sesame seeds. It will be available at participating restaurants across the US from May 15 through June 21.
Last week it was reported that a number of Burger King’s franchisees, which run hundreds of restaurants, have fallen upon hard times.
Last month two franchisees, representing more than 140 locations, went bust and Meridian Restaurants Unlimited, which has 118 Burger King locations across the US, filed for bankruptcy, having racked up $14 million in debt.
Earlier this week Burger King announced that by the end of the year it would shutter up to 400 underperforming locations.
Burger King has introduced a Spider Man-themed Whopper burger to coincide with the release of the upcoming ‘Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse’ movie
The new Whopper is not dissimilar from the one fans have come to know, except it’s sandwiched between a red bun spotted with black sesame seeds
Chairman Patrick Doyle said of the closures: ‘There will always be a minority [of franchisees] who aren’t dedicated, enthusiastic operators. We’ll work with them to leave the system and move on to do something else.
‘There simply is no room for franchisees who are not willing or able to work hard to operate restaurants that are better than the system average over the long term.’
But there are other signs things may be looking up. Earlier this month its parent company Restaurant Brands International topped expectations in its first quarter earnings call.
Burger King itself experienced 12 percent more sales per store as compared with the same period last year. Restaurant Brands International. which also oversees chains including Popeyes, Tim Hortons and Firehouse Subs, experienced its highest share price of all time on May 3.
‘This is one of the best results we’ve had in a really long time,’ Restaurant Brands CEO Josh Kobza told CNBC.
CEO Josh Kobza said he expects up to 400 locations will shutter across the US in 2023
In April, Burger King US President and former Dominos executive Tom Curtis, told the CNBC the chain was selling a record number of Whoppers. That came months after Restaurant Brands named a new CEO Joshua Kobza.
When announcing the upcoming closures this year, Kobza admitted there is ‘a fair degree of uncertainty’ around the plans.
Burger King struggled to recover after the pandemic and in April 2021, RBI recruited Curtis to turn around its US business.
He pinpointed the construction of Whoppers, highlighting how some employees were slipping cheese slices below the meat, others on top.
Curtis said this was slowing down production and wanted to standardize the procedure.
In April Kobza said he felt ‘really good about where we’re going’ and praised the ‘tremendous leadership’ of Curtis.
