- Do you know the story behind the Whopper?
Did you read How Burger Fast Food Became What it is Today: Part One? (Click the link to read it.) This is part two.
But the early 1960s there were over 300 McDonald’s with uniform french fries. Whether you like them or not, McDonald’s fries are iconic, hot, and tasty, but more than that, they’re always the same.
McDonald’s is now national, with franchises in every state.
Back in Miami, Florida, Edgerton and MacLamore have installed the flame broiler to all of their locations. With McDonald’s now in Florida, they were losing out on target market sales.
The Creation of the Whopper
Edgerton and MacLamore created the whopper to compete with McDonald’s.
A burger with its own name. A bigger bun, bigger patty, plus onion, tomato, mayo pickle, and lettuce.
In the 60s, the burgers were smaller. Back then burgers didn’t have their own special name, either. The Whoppers first slogan was “in all the world there’s only one Whopper.”
This was also the first larger burger with fixins from a franchise. For Insta Burger King it would be a recognizable product. Now Burger King is ready to fight, their sales were up 40% in weeks.
The Whopper was an instant success. It took off and became super popular.
They wanted a name change for the business, too. Something shorter and punchier, after operating under the name they inherited for so long. And we now know them as: Burger King- Home of the Whopper
The partners knew they needed to expand further, wanting national locations. They identified cities like Chicago, New Orleans and Wilmington, Delaware.
MacLamore and Kroc Meet
Before Chicago, Maclamore makes a stop to see Ray Kroc. Kroc comes out, MacLamore says that it’s the dream to be competition to McDonald’s.
He asks Kroc for advice as a franchiser and he told him the worst of it. It’s dog eat dog out there, someone’s always trying to cut you down. It’s the survival of the fittest and if a competitor was drowning, I’d toss them an anchor. That’s what it takes to make it in the business.
Talk about tough love.
Kroc asks the name of his place and MacLamore says “Burger King. Kroc wishes him the best of luck.
Getting Bigger
Aggressive expansion in 1962 puts Burger King in 23 cities across the country.
Profits double to over $150,000 or $1.2 million today.
MacLamore and Edgerton innovate again with tv advertising. With new technology, now you can see someone eat it and enjoy it. It’s not just a print ad.
The Whopper takes aim at everyone without a “named” burger, Burger King called out McDonald’s. By 1964 profits rise over 50% in all locations and the Whopper has the reputations as “so big, just one is a whole meal.”
Competition
Kroc see’s a commercial from his competition and the extreme growth catches his eye. He wants to strike back.
At the time, MacLamore and Edgerton have 400 locations strong, worth the modern equivalent of $8 billion.
Kroc gets a Whopper, inspects it, and eats it. The Whopper shocked him. It was bigger, thicker, and compared to McDonald’s you could really notice the difference.
Click the link to read How Burger Fast Food Became What it is Today: Part Three.
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