Burger King has been trying to attract customers by doing something different: Tacos.
On Tuesday, it started selling crunchy tacos that cost $1 in most places; however, they are more expensive in Hawaii and Alaska. Please note that Burger King is offering tacos at $1 only for a limited period. The burger chain first tested out tacos in western states.
Chris Finazzo, president of North America for Burger King, said, “We’ve seen success with tacos in those restaurants and knew it was time to bring this west coast favorite nationwide. The new item adds ‘variety’ to Burger King’s snack offerings.”
“Fast food chains use limited-time offerings to build hype and keep their brands top of mind with consumers, and tacos, in particular, are a good way to attract customers,” said Neil Saunders, MD of GlobalData Retail, a research and consulting firm.
Saunders explained that tacos are very popular with consumers and fast food chains do not often traditionally sell tacos, which could tempt them to enter the market.
Jen Kennedy, VP of product marketing at Jack in the Box, told CNN Business, “Jack in the Box, in particular, has had great success with its taco. The item has been a #1 seller and a fan favorite for years.”
In fact, people have started flocking to Mexican food chains for tacos.
With this marketing strategy, Burger King is trying to do something more than just cash in on a popular menu item, noted Saunders. He added, “It’s also trying to create buzz for the brand with something unexpected.”
Such attention-grabbing marketing strategies could sometimes fail. “They could distract Burger King from focusing on creating growth within its main menu,” said Saunders.
He warned, “They have to be careful with some of these promotions. Burger King can be very haphazard with the menu. That can be a good thing because consumers like to try new things. But sometimes you get the impression that Burger King chases after the shiny objects rather than focusing on the core business.”
