Latest news with #TomCurtis
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Restaurant Brands International Inc. (QSR)'s Burger King Turns Up the Heat with Dragon Whopper and Family-First Marketing Blitz
Burger King, a unit of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR), is intensifying its U.S. turnaround strategy by targeting families through movie-themed menu launches. This week, the chain debuted limited-edition items tied to Universal's upcoming live-action How to Train Your Dragon, including a red-orange 'Dragon Flame-Grilled Whopper,' chili mozzarella fries, and themed desserts. The move follows underwhelming Q1 results, where U.S. same-store sales fell 1.1% as economic pressure and weather impacted foot traffic. With prior campaigns linked to Spider-Man and Addams Family driving Whopper innovation sales highs, the company is doubling down on these tie-ins to lift average checks and footfall. Jonathan Weiss/ President Tom Curtis said Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR)'s Burger King is now focused on a 'family-first' strategy which is supported by recent operational and remodeling investments, including the buyout of its largest U.S. franchisee. The current promotion also comes amid rising scrutiny of artificial dyes, prompting the use of natural ingredients to appeal to health-conscious parents. Curtis hinted at more aggressive promotions ahead and confirmed another major partnership for late 2025. While rivals MCD and WEN face similar macro headwinds, Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR)'s Burger King is leveraging movie hype and revamped marketing to recover lost share and build long-term loyalty. While we acknowledge the potential of QSR to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than QSR and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this READ NEXT: and Disclosure: None.
NBC News
21-05-2025
- Business
- NBC News
Burger King targets families through movie partnerships in latest stage of turnaround
As Burger King enters the next phase of its turnaround efforts, the fast-food chain is trying to lure families back to its restaurants with colored Whopper buns and kid-friendly movie partnerships. Starting Tuesday, the Restaurant Brands International chain will sell new menu items inspired by the 'live action' remake of 'How to Train Your Dragon.' The collaboration is more than just a one-time partnership — it's part of Burger King's broader strategy to lift U.S. sales. 'Where we're really starting to lean in now that we've made some progress in both operations and in our restaurants is on a family-first marketing strategy,' Burger King U.S. and Canada President Tom Curtis told CNBC. Burger King's U.S. business has been in turnaround mode for more than 2½ years. After falling behind burger rivals McDonald's and Wendy's, the company announced plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in a comeback strategy to renovate its restaurants, improve its operations and spend on advertising. The chain even bought its largest U.S. franchisee with the goal of accelerating its restaurant remodels. 'We're finding that there will be chapters to this as we go through time, and right now is this family strategy chapter, where we've done enough work and transformed our restaurant operations to the extent that we're proud of,' Curtis said. 'We're inviting families back in, and we're finding that we're getting better retention when they do come back in.' Curtis said focusing on families gives Burger King the opportunity to attract customers across age cohorts, from millennials to Generation Alpha, which is roughly defined as people born between 2010 and 2025. Plus, parents' avid use of social media means that word spreads quickly, giving the approach a leg up compared with targeting a single demographic that isn't as enthusiastic online. The limited-time themed menu items include the Dragon Flame-Grilled Whopper, with a red and orange marbled bun; Fiery Dragon Mozzarella Fries, made with Calabrian chili pepper breading; Soaring Strawberry Lemonade; and the Viking's Chocolate Sundae, with Hershey's syrup and black and green cookie crumbles. Colorful movie history Movie collaborations aren't anything new for fast food — or Burger King. It was one of the first fast-food chains to lean into movie tie-ins. In 1977, the chain sold 'Star Wars' drinking glasses ahead of the film's release. McDonald's wasn't far behind, following with a Star Trek-themed Happy Meal two years later, kicking off decades of movie, TV and toy tie-ins aimed at kids. More recently, the Golden Arches' collaboration with 'A Minecraft Movie' across more than 100 markets sold out within two weeks in the U.S., about half the time earmarked for the promotion. In Burger King's more recent past, under Curtis' leadership, the chain has had two major partnerships: one with 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' two years ago and another with the Addams Family franchise, timed for Halloween last year. Both of those menus featured Whoppers with thematic, colored buns, dyed using natural colorants, like beet juice or ube. 'Not having artificial dyes and colors is something that's been important to us for a while,' Curtis said. Burger King use of natural dyes comes as artificial food dyes have come under fire from health-concerned parents. Following a push from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Food and Drug Administration recently announced plans to phase out the use of petroleum-based synthetic dyes in food and drinks. The two previous collaborations also were Burger King's top-selling Whopper innovations, based on the number sold, according to Curtis. 'What we found in the Addams Family promotion specifically was, as we dug into the property, traffic was fairly flat, but sales were up,' he said, attributing the sales growth to families, which have a higher average check than a solo diner or a couple. The expected sales lift from the 'How to Train Your Dragon' menu comes at a crucial time for Burger King. In its most recent quarter, the company's comeback stumbled. The chain's U.S. same-store sales slid 1.1%, mirroring an industrywide slump as fears about the economy and bad weather kept diners at home. But Curtis is confident that Burger King is on the right track, pointing to the chain's relative outperformance compared with its two biggest competitors: McDonald's and Wendy's. 'I know that they're scrambling, and sometimes, frankly, copying some of the things that we do, which, you know, plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery,' he said. 'When we see them doing that, it gives us more conviction to stay on course.' Deep dive When the live-action version of 'How to Train Your Dragon' hits theaters on June 13, it's expected to be one of the summer's big blockbusters. After all, the animated trilogy has grossed more than $1.6 billion worldwide. Burger King has similar expectations for its menu tie-in. The past success of the Spider-Verse and Addams Family menu items pushed Burger King to 'dramatically' up its forecast for the 'How to Train Your Dragon' menu, according to Curtis. And Burger King is also planning on changing its advertising strategy, which could drastically increase demand for the Dragon Flamed-Grilled Whoppers. 'In the past, we would just kind of associate ourselves with the movie property, but we wouldn't necessarily advertise the association — you'd just see it and hear about it in social media,' Curtis said. The promotion is supposed to run through early July, but in case Burger King burns through its supply in just three weeks, the chain is prepared to monitor what locations have run out of the menu items. That's a lesson it learned during its Spider-Verse promotion, when it had to launch a tracker on its website to help customers find the coveted Whopper. As it learns from every experience, Burger King is planning to dive deeper into franchise partnerships, betting that the extra effort will drive long-term loyalty for the brand. 'We're doing a couple more of them than we have in the past,' Curtis said. 'We've got one toward the end of the year that we're very, very excited about … and we're getting some lined up for next year as well. In every one of those, we'll go all in.'
Fast Company
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fast Company
Burger King sees success with limited-time Whoppers inspired by Hollywood
Hollywood loves a sequel. And it turns out, Burger King loves them too. For the third consecutive year, the fast-food operator is debuting a limited-time menu tied to a big box film, this time How to Train Your Dragon, ahead of the live-action film based on Universal Pictures film that will be released in June. Beginning May 27, Burger King will start selling a new red-and-orange marble colored Whopper and Dragon -inspired mozzarella fries, strawberry lemonade, and a chocolate sundae, all taking inspiration from a franchise that has grossed more than $1.6 billion at the global box office and earned four Academy Award nominations. Burger King says the partnership extends a family-focused marketing strategy that kicked off in 2023 with Spider-Man and 2024's tie-in with The Addams Family. Both led to larger orders and over-indexed in popularity with younger audiences and families. 'What we've seen is that we're starting again to grow with families,' says Tom Curtis, president of Burger King, during an interview with Fast Company. The Whopper plays itself Since Curtis joined Burger King in 2021, after a long career at rival restaurant operator Domino's, he has helped spearhead nine unique Whopper limited-time offers. The red-bun Whopper was connected to the film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and last year's purple-bun evoked the popular Addams Family character Wednesday, who has an ongoing live-action TV show on Netflix. Those Hollywood-inspired Whoppers were the strongest selling LTOs that Curtis launched, doubling the AUV, or average unit volume sold at each restaurant location, versus the LTOs that weren't connected to a film. Spider-Man and The Addams Family, in particular, are decades-old intellectual properties that have spanned film, television, video games, and comics. That gives Burger King the ability to market cross-generationally, luring younger children who are newer fans of the more recent film and TV releases, but also appealing to parents and older diners who may have fond memories of these properties from their childhood. Even How to Train Your Dragon, initially based on a novel released in 2003, is now over two decades old and has inspired multiple hit films and a TV series. 'When you really associate yourself with a powerful property, especially one that's appealing not only to kids, but has a nostalgic element of it as well, then those can be really big movers of the business,' says Curtis. Spider-Man was a driver that helped U.S. comparable sales at Burger King restaurants open at least 13 months increase 7.5% in 2023. The growth slowed to a more modest 1.2% last year and dipped 1.1% in the U.S. for the first quarter of 2025 compared to prior-year levels. Burger King says it was encouraged by the steady traffic and market-share gains it has achieved compared to other fast-food chains even amid the more recent sales softness. 'We're in an industry that's going to have ebbs and flows,' says Curtis. 'As long as we're outgrowing the competition on a fairly consistent basis, then we know we're winning the game.' Investing in the future Burger King and the brand's parent company, Restaurant Brands, have jolted sales in part thanks to a $400 million 'Reclaim the Flame' investment unveiled in 2022 that pumped millions into advertising, restaurant remodels, and new kitchen equipment. Touchscreen kiosks were added to more locations to ease the workload for staff at the counter, new seat formats were designed to be more family friendly for larger groups, and Burger King reemphasized adding playgrounds for kids. Curtis says before he joined, traffic had been decelerating and restaurants weren't operated to their full potential. The chain needed to reinvest to entice diners. 'You can't invite a family with parents who love their kids to a dirty restaurant where they're not going to be treated in a friendly way, and in a restaurant that, frankly, is in some cases, [falling down around them],' says Curtis. Fast food faces growing consumer caution This year, Burger King will need to contend with softer consumer sentiment, as diners fret that a trade war and tariffs will result in higher inflation. Already, data has shown that traffic at quick-service restaurants has been slowing, and brands including McDonald's and Chipotle have reported softer sales. Burger King has offered menu deals, including a $5 duo and $7 trio offer that allowed diners to select two or three items from a list that included a Whopper Junior, fries, and chicken sandwiches. Curtis acknowledges that when budgets get tighter, Burger King may be inclined to lean on the combination of menu innovations with value pricing, meaning promos. But he says that Burger King does benefit from the fact that it doesn't sell consumer discretionary goods. 'People have to eat,' says Curtis. 'If you can give them great value and a great menu, you can be an option in all economic environments.'
CNBC
21-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Burger King targets families through movie partnerships in latest stage of turnaround
As Burger King enters the next phase of its turnaround efforts, the fast-food chain is trying to lure families back to its restaurants with colored Whopper buns and kid-friendly movie partnerships. Starting Tuesday, the Restaurant Brands International chain will sell new menu items inspired by the "live action" remake of "How to Train Your Dragon." The collaboration is more than just a one-time partnership — it's part of Burger King's broader strategy to lift U.S. sales. "Where we're really starting to lean in now that we've made some progress in both operations and in our restaurants is on a family-first marketing strategy," Burger King U.S. and Canada President Tom Curtis told CNBC. Burger King's U.S. business has been in turnaround mode for more than 2½ years. After falling behind burger rivals McDonald's and Wendy's, the company announced plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in a comeback strategy to renovate its restaurants, improve its operations and spend on advertising. The chain even bought its largest U.S. franchisee with the goal of accelerating its restaurant remodels. "We're finding that there will be chapters to this as we go through time, and right now is this family strategy chapter, where we've done enough work and transformed our restaurant operations to the extent that we're proud of," Curtis said. "We're inviting families back in, and we're finding that we're getting better retention when they do come back in." Curtis said focusing on families gives Burger King the opportunity to attract customers across age cohorts, from millennials to Generation Alpha, which is roughly defined as people born between 2010 and 2025. Plus, parents' avid use of social media means that word spreads quickly, giving the approach a leg up compared with targeting a single demographic that isn't as enthusiastic online. The limited-time themed menu items include the Dragon Flame-Grilled Whopper, with a red and orange marbled bun; Fiery Dragon Mozzarella Fries, made with Calabrian chili pepper breading; Soaring Strawberry Lemonade; and the Viking's Chocolate Sundae, with Hershey's syrup and black and green cookie crumbles. Movie collaborations aren't anything new for fast food — or Burger King. It was one of the first fast-food chains to lean into movie tie-ins. In 1977, the chain sold "Star Wars" drinking glasses ahead of the film's release. McDonald's wasn't far behind, following with a Star Trek-themed Happy Meal two years later, kicking off decades of movie, TV and toy tie-ins aimed at kids. More recently, the Golden Arches' collaboration with "A Minecraft Movie" across more than 100 markets sold out within two weeks in the U.S., about half the time earmarked for the promotion. In Burger King's more recent past, under Curtis' leadership, the chain has had two major partnerships: one with "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" two years ago and another with the Addams Family franchise, timed for Halloween last year. Both of those menus featured Whoppers with thematic, colored buns, dyed using natural colorants, like beet juice or ube. "Not having artificial dyes and colors is something that's been important to us for a while," Curtis said. Burger King use of natural dyes comes as artificial food dyes have come under fire from health-concerned parents. Following a push from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Food and Drug Administration recently announced plans to phase out the use of petroleum-based synthetic dyes in food and drinks. The two previous collaborations also were Burger King's top-selling Whopper innovations, based on the number sold, according to Curtis. "What we found in the Addams Family promotion specifically was, as we dug into the property, traffic was fairly flat, but sales were up," he said, attributing the sales growth to families, which have a higher average check than a solo diner or a couple. The expected sales lift from the "How to Train Your Dragon" menu comes at a crucial time for Burger King. In its most recent quarter, the company's comeback stumbled. The chain's U.S. same-store sales slid 1.1%, mirroring an industrywide slump as fears about the economy and bad weather kept diners at home. But Curtis is confident that Burger King is on the right track, pointing to the chain's relative outperformance compared with its two biggest competitors: McDonald's and Wendy's. "I know that they're scrambling, and sometimes, frankly, copying some of the things that we do, which, you know, plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery," he said. "When we see them doing that, it gives us more conviction to stay on course." When the live-action version of "How to Train Your Dragon" hits theaters on June 13, it's expected to be one of the summer's big blockbusters. After all, the animated trilogy has grossed more than $1.6 billion worldwide. Burger King has similar expectations for its menu tie-in. The past success of the Spider-Verse and Addams Family menu items pushed Burger King to "dramatically" up its forecast for the "How to Train Your Dragon" menu, according to Curtis. And Burger King is also planning on changing its advertising strategy, which could drastically increase demand for the Dragon Flamed-Grilled Whoppers. "In the past, we would just kind of associate ourselves with the movie property, but we wouldn't necessarily advertise the association — you'd just see it and hear about it in social media," Curtis said. The promotion is supposed to run through early July, but in case Burger King burns through its supply in just three weeks, the chain is prepared to monitor what locations have run out of the menu items. That's a lesson it learned during its Spider-Verse promotion, when it had to launch a tracker on its website to help customers find the coveted Whopper. As it learns from every experience, Burger King is planning to dive deeper into franchise partnerships, betting that the extra effort will drive long-term loyalty for the brand. "We're doing a couple more of them than we have in the past," Curtis said. "We've got one toward the end of the year that we're very, very excited about … and we're getting some lined up for next year as well. In every one of those, we'll go all in."
Miami Herald
29-04-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
McDonald's launches a bold new restaurant concept
A new trend has been blooming in the fast-food industry in recent years: high-concept restaurants and offshoots of household name brands. It's an interesting way to put a fresh spin on a brand that's been around forever, and it attracts new customers while keeping longtime customers coming back. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter McDonald's did it in 2024 with its launch of CosMc, a new concept restaurant specifically built around drinks and snacks. Its menu features trendy options like an Iced Vanilla Matcha Latte and an Iced Tumeric Spiced Latte, appealing to the Starbucks fan at a slightly lower price point than the famous Seattle-based chain offers. Related: Burger King answers McDonald's new restaurant format move Burger King is making a similar move, but rather than building out a new offshoot, it's pouring money into its pre-existing locations as a part of a "Reclaim the Flame" investment program launched in Sept. 2022. One of those changes is the new "Sizzle" restaurant design, which boasts a clean, modern look that combines white walls with wood details and bold, bright orange art. But the real selling point is how the design, featuring both kiosk and in-store mobile order and pickup, made customers' experiences easier than ever. According to North American president Tom Curtis, these designs have been implemented "so the guest gets the same consistent experience every time they come to one of our restaurants." Now McDonald's is making another move to stay fresh in the competitive fast-food market, and it's unlike anything the chain has ever done. Image source: Landini Associates When you think about going to a McDonald's, you probably envision the locations near where you live, but McDonald's newest location looks nothing like the ones you know. The chain has launched its new "Mood Engine" concept restaurant at Admiralty Station in Hong Kong - its second-busiest location in the world - to celebrate the brand's 50th anniversary since it first appeared in Hong Kong. Designed by design and brand consultant agency Landini Associates, the new space boasts a 72-foot screen that uses lighting, color, and familiar McDonald's characters to shift the mood of the space as it transitions from daytime to night. Related: McDonald's is debuting a wild new sandwich "The Mood-Engine resonates to the energy required by the guests in the moment. Like a chameleon, it responds to its environment," said Mark Landini, the founder and creative director behind Landini Associates. "As customers rise from the station below, they're welcomed by a reflective double-canopy entrance - a contemporary homage to McDonald's original roofline and a nod to Ray Kroc's classic design," a press release on the redesign reads. "Now framed by glowing feature walls in McDonald's signature yellow, aimed at creating an unmissable beacon - just like the earliest restaurants once were." Admiralty Station is not the only McDonald's to get a makeover, as the brand has continuously explored ways to modernize its interiors. Another fascinating experiment for the brand started in 2024, when a pilot program launched in Belgium and France to envision a new look for McDonald's. This one was helmed by Antwerp-based studio WeWantMore and implements options like energy-efficient LED tubes, stools and chairs made from 100% recycled content, and the use of vivid primary colors like blue, yellow, and red. While the new designs certainly have an eco-friendly focus, McDonald's says it didn't feel the need to advertise that fact. "We didn't want to do any flag-waving," says Silke Korporal, head of global design at McDonald's, "so we didn't advertise a sustainable decor inside the design. We just wanted it to be." Related: Forget Minecraft: McDonald's menu adds healthy new burger The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
