Fast food has hung its hat on limited-time offers since the 1980s.
Those offers have changed over time. They used to be more about special pricing or promotions where customers get a collectible like Coca-Cola glasses, Star Wars watches, or a toy tied to a major movie release.
In recent years, in a trend that has been led at least partly by Yum Brands' (YUM) Taco Bell, many limited-time offers have focused on new and sometimes outrageous food items.
Customers might come in for a new burger topped with grilled onions and barbecue sauce. But when a chain offers fried chicken as the bun or taco shell or makes a similarly bold move, the meal gains the potential to go viral on social media.
DON'T MISS: Taco Bell Makes a Surprising Addition to its Menu
Some of these promotions seem created as much for Instagram and the media as they are for people to eat. That seemed to be the case in 2012 when Taco Bell debuted the Doritos Loco Taco.
Using the iconic chip as a taco shell made a lot of sense, but the chain likely didn't know it was going to create a sensation. In fact, the Doritos Loco Taco became such a hit, it not only spawned countless sequels (and knockoffs), it actually was added to the permanent Taco Bell menu.
Image source: Taco Bell
Burger King Has Its Own Doritos Collab
Burger King has followed Taco Bell into the snack-chip-collaboration world before. Back in 2016 the chain launched Mac n' Cheetos, a deep-fried macaroni and cheese "snack." Essentially, this was a fried, stick-like product coated in Cheetos' iconic cheesy dust.
The chain, however, hasn't tried this type of promotion on one of its famous burgers -- until now. Burger King has released the new Cheesy Doritos burgers in Spain and Portugal, Brand Eating reported.
They take their name from "Doritos Bites," which are fried triangles of Doritos cheese sauce, sort of the snack-chip take on a mozzarella stick.
"Burger King's Cheesy Doritos burger features one or two flame-grilled beef patties and two Doritos Bites served with cheddar cheese slices, Doritos Cheddar Sauce, and tomato on a toasted cheddar bun," the website says. "A chicken version is also available and comes with two crispy-fried chicken filets instead of beef."
Burger King Is Trying to Rebuild Its Brand
Burger King's parent, Restaurant Brands International, (QSR) recently hired former Domino's Chief Executive Patrick Doyle as its chairman. An expert in helping fast-food brands improve their execution, the former nemesis of The Noid has taken a very active role in rebuilding the Burger King brand.
Doyle was very clear about his job at Restaurant Brands with his comments on the company's fourth-quarter-earnings call.
"My own mandate here at RBI is to rapidly accelerate the growth of the company by identifying areas that can deliver outsized results as we lean into them even more," he said.
The new executive chairman is not taking a salary and has done something very bold to show his commitment to the company.
"Aside from my mandate, the growth opportunity we have in our brands is also why I invested $3 million of my own money on my way in the door and locked it up for five years. So I'm all in," he added.
Doyle and incoming CEO Joshua Kobza believe that early efforts are paying off.
"In our first quarter of the new Reclaim the Flame plan, the team delivered a sequential improvement in comparable sales to 5% year-over-year," the CEO said.
"...You've heard us highlight again and again the correlation between operational excellence and sales and profitability. Since sharpening our focus on operations in mid-2021, Burger King has achieved an over 40% improvement in guest satisfaction, with six consecutive quarters of progress."
