Burger King to Become Biggest Seller of Hot Dogs

Fast-food chain will start selling hot dogs on February 23, marking its biggest menu change in decades.

February 11, 2016

NEW YORK – Come February 23, Burger King will begin selling hot dogs, its biggest menu change in decades that will also make the QSR the biggest seller of hot dogs in the United States, reports USA Today.

"We haven’t been as excited about a product announced like this in a long long time,” said Burger King North America President Alex Macedo, comparing the launch to that of the Whopper. Through a partnership with Oscar Mayer to create a proprietary 100% beef hot dog, Macedo says the menu item will stand apart from competitors, such as convenience stores, because the hot dog will be flame-grilled instead of boiled or placed on a roller grill. 

Macedo also told the Wall Street Journal that hot dogs represent a huge growth opportunity for Burger King, and that the idea came from customer feedback. “Some guests would say they loved our hot dogs, and we didn’t even have hot dogs,” he told the news source. “Some said they’d love it if we had hot dogs.”

During a test last year in five markets, Burger King experimented with different flavors before settling on a chili cheese dog and a classic hot dog topped with ketchup, mustard, chopped onions and relish. Other options were dropped after testing, such as a corn dog and a “rodeo” hot dog with barbecue sauce and crispy onion rings, writes the Journal.

“We made a bunch of mistakes and we learned a lot,” Macedo said, adding that customers advised the QSR to stick to the basics.

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