business

McDonald's and Burger King battle it out with new menus

49 Comments

McDonald’s Japan and Burger King have introduced four kinds of hamburgers for February and March as their competition heats up.

Burger King started the ball rolling on Feb 1 with the Delicacy of the World–Whopper campaign which involves the launch of four products through March 31.

Burger King's new offerings are the BBQ Whopper, which uses American barbecue sauce. That will be available until Feb 18. After that comes the Black Pepper Whopper, with black pepper made in Malaysia (Feb 19-March 4). Then there will be the Spicy Italian Whopper which uses Italian sauce; and finally the Teriyaki Whopper will be in stores March 5-18 and March 19-31. All of the new burgers will be priced at around 450 yen.

Meanwhile, McDonald’s Japan is promoting its "Big America" campaign which was launched on Jan 15 with the Texas Burger. The Texas Burger has 2.5 times more meat than regular burgers and uses a spicy barbecue sauce and mustard. It sells for 400-420 yen.

The latest Mac offering is the New York Burger, which uses mustard on bacon and tomato, Two other variations are planned for March.

A McDonald's spokesperson says the Texas Burger has been a big hit. Nationwide sales topped 28.11 billion yen in the two weeks since its release, breaking a record that has stood since 1971.

© News reports

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.


49 Comments
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Burger King #1!!!!!! But no Taco Bell :(

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no burger king where i live. more`s the pity. i love BK

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Burger King- "All of the new burgers will be priced at around 450 yen."

Are you serious ? This is fast food for crying out loud ! Gourmet burgers here in the US go for less than $4 ! The wife and I spend about $4.50 for a whole set here, that's an angus burger (loaded to the nines), frys, and an "all you can drink" beverage. Can someone at BK please explain these outlandish prices ? Especially with the exchange rate continuing to hover at 90 yen to the dollar !

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Wow, these are trying to make sumo wrestlers out of everybody...

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Burger King? Where? Haven't seen one the whole time I've been here.

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My local BK at Sugamo in Tokyo already went under and the Mac in front of my station followed suit shortly thereafter so not everyone is craving these morsels. I predict BK will be beaten out of here just like they were before by relentless Mickey D's marketing onslaughts. I loves me my BK although the Japanese predilection for sweet sauces on burgers is a dismal addition to flame-grilled perfection.

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Are you serious ? This is fast food for crying out loud ! Gourmet burgers here in the US go for less than $4 !

This is Japan, things are expensive. Transportation costs are higher and fast food staff make reasonably decent wages 30-40% higher than US).

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Yes thanks to the two discount coupons graciously given to me by my childs kindergarten and the relentless advertising Ill be partaking in a New York burger this weekend. That will be my fat fix for the........err month. What Im really lusting after is a lamb kebab. A big one. With cheese, olives, jalapeno peppers, tabouli, extra hommus, sour cream, yoghurt and garlic sauce, tahini sauce. Anyone know if they exist in Japan.

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No Win7 Burger?

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"fast food staff make reasonably decent wages 30-40% higher than US."

Nonsense. Minimum wage is about $9.00 an hour here. I saw starting wages for McDonalds and BK at around 800 yen. "Transportation costs" are a non issue if you consider how much cheaper the various ingredients should be bought for.

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McDonald's and Burger King battle it out with new menus

McDonald's and Burger King battle it out to see who can give Japan's younger generations the biggest thunder thighs.

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Its all about Mos Burger baby!

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McDonalds tastes great in Japan, but I'm quite put off by the lack of hygiene: no gloves, and I've seen noticed at my local McD's that it's the same person that takes my order and money at the register that also goes back to make my burger (all without gloves)...

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Burger King rocks. I hope they expand here.

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where can i get an aussie burger with some beet root?

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Burger King Rules!!!

Got that off my chest.

The article says:

A McDonald’s spokesperson says the Texas Burger has been a big hit. Nationwide sales topped 28.11 billion yen in the two weeks since its release

That's 28.11 BILLION YEN in 2 weeks?!?! If the average MacDonald's customer spends say 650yen on a meal, that's 43.2 million people eating at MD's in 2 weeks... that's about 3 million people a day... that's about 2.4% of the country's population eating at MD's everyday for 2 weeks!!! That's enough numbers for today.

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I sampled the Texas Burger. Not too bad...

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I stopped in the BK in Nishi Shinjuku a few weeks back. The service was incredible. Unbelievable. The worst I've ever seen in a "fast" food restaurant. There were three staff milling in the kitchen area. One woman who walked back and forth from the behind the counter every now and then, and one lone guy struggling to get 6 sets ready for a take out. He was slow and awkward, but you could see that he was trying really hard to get the drinks poured and things to all fit in the bags in some sort of sensible pattern.

I waited for 10 full minutes to get my coffee order in, mostly out of curiosity, because it was quite fascinating to watch.

Now it's very possible that something terrible had just happened - say, the manager had been taken away in an ambulance after collapsing on the floor and all the staff were in shock. I will have to go back again sometime to see if they really are as untrained and inefficient on a regular basis.

Does anyone know if the BK's here are run by individual franchisees or if the first test restaurants are being directly run? Did Yum get a Japanese partner this time?

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Nonsense. Minimum wage is about $9.00 an hour here. I saw starting wages for McDonalds and BK at around 800 yen.

You must live in inaka, then. The McDs by me advertises part-time jobs at 950-1000 yen, which is $10.50-$11.00 US/hr. The US minimum wage is $7.25, so you're right - that's closer to 50% higher, and I seriously doubt any burger flipper is making more than the minimum in the US.

Even 800 yen is ~25% higher than US minimum...

Even at

Moderator: Readers, please stay on topic. The hourly wage rate for staff at these places is not relevant to this story.

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pawatan at 08:17 AM JST - 5th February

Are you serious ? This is fast food for crying out loud ! Gourmet burgers here in the US go for less than $4 !

This is Japan, things are expensive. Transportation costs are higher and fast food staff make reasonably decent wages 30-40% higher than US).

The secret is they send you coupons to use on your ktai that lowers prices considerably, but its all Japanese. Occasionally they hand out fliers, but almost never to Gaijian, ask for them before you order.

Pay is maybe 10% different, so that is not a valid reason, and its the same pay at both McDonalds, and Burger King, in Japan. The prices are 610 Yen for a set meal at Mc and 810 Yen at BK. BK is a disappointment with the higher prices, they will have to lower them to succeed, most of their stores are always empty while Mc `s are full. Their really is no good reason for the difference in price.

Moderator: Readers, please stay on topic. The hourly wage rate for staff at these places is not relevant to this story.

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I live in Gunma and haven't seen any BK outlets. Are they only in Tokyo? Does anyone know? I absolutely love BK burgers, the size and taste.

Moderator: You can a list of Burger King's outlets in japan at http://www.burgerkingjapan.co.jp/locations/

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sorry mod- didn't see your warning till too late- feel free to delete.

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will be in stores March 5-18 and March 19-31

I found this a little funny. Almost too Japanese.

Nationwide sales topped 28.11 billion yen in the two weeks since its release

I am with Tahoochi. This number is either a mistake, a fib or amazingly good news for MacJ.

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We do not put mustard on our burgers in New York. Mustard is for hot dogs. I tried the Texas one and only got 1/3 of the way through it. Could only taste sauce and not meat. Gotta get to a burger king.

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@goddog: Mc-y D's has been putting mustard on its hamburgers since the beginning. As a fellow NY'er, I know of at least one who likes it! ;^)

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goddog: thanks for the review on the Texas burger... even though I don't usually eat fast food burgers in Japan, I was a little curious about the Texas burger.

Has anyone else had it? What did you think?

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pam, I am not talking about Mickey D's burgers in NY. NY has so many great burger places, and most leave it up to you to put on what ever you want. Mustard is an option, but not a given at all.

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Delicacy of the world--American BBQ sauce, black pepper from Malaysia, and spicy Italian sauce!

I haven't eaten beef for almost 20 years. Find it a bit concerning that they are making burgers now with 2.5 times more meat. Is Japan striving to be a country with more obesity and heart disease?

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I thought the Texas Burger was pretty good. It had lots of sauces for sure, but it was a good change of pace.

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do ppl actually eat this crap??? lips, tails, snouts and a holes is what this battle is about

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iam from florida and we put mustard on every thing . even eggs .

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I think McDonald's will win because they have more flexibility with their menus and more experience with mixing it up. They still don't offer the full menus that are offered in the States. BK has pretty much sold the same menu for a long time.

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and kill Wendy's in the process :)

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@goddog: Ya know, I'd rather have a nice kosher hotdog with mustard & kraut, come to mention it. ;^)

Mc-y D's, Burger King... There's room for both... BUT, is there a Nathan's Hot Dogs in Japan?

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Ding! So exciting, mouth watering action and front row. I'm waiting for the Big Kahuna burger, pineapple, maui onions...

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The BK Bourbon whopper was divine!

I tried to get a Texas Burger, but to no avail. Always sold out ><

Want to try the New York one though if I can, and I'm interested to know what the new burgers will be...

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Texas burger was nasty.

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Nationwide sales topped 28.11 billion yen in the two weeks since its release

Don't know if this is a mistake or not. Some of the fast food numbers in this country are amazing. I know an American guy who has his own company (about 5 people) who do half a billion US every year just importing fast food ingredients into this country.

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The New York burger setto was OK, for 730 yen. Nothing to write home about. At least they have some vegetables in there - a tomato slice and some lettuce. They need to work on crisping up the bacon. Few people in Japan seem to know that bacon should be somewhat crispy. As it is now, you get some rubbery strips of close to raw pork fat and that kind of ruins the experience.

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"do ppl actualy eat this crap???"

You must have missed the line about McD's sales over 11,000,000,000 yen in the two weeks since they introduced the Texas Burger.

Curiosity got the best of me, I tried the New York Burger today - it's not bad, probably I won't die, but then again I'm not a cat, ha ha ha!

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Had my first and last Texas burger today. It's a MacDonalds burger and tastes just like every other. What more can you say?

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Disillusioned - You couldn't have had a Texas Burger today - that's gone, replaced by the New York Burger.

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Haven't ANY of you seen "Fast Food Nation"???

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half a billion US every year just importing fast food ingredients into this country.

$10 million a week? I am sure Newsweek, Fortune and the IRS would love to interview him. Fast-food and those kind of numbers, hard to swallow...

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"Had my first and last Texas burger today"

You didn't have a Texas Burger today - that's gone, replaced by the New York Burger from today.

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Haven't ANY of you seen "Fast Food Nation"???

Yeah. I just try to forget about it once a week!

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I love burgers and McD's has some that I like a lot too, but Texas burger is disappointing and forgettable. I'd rather eat a McPork than pay all that money for that amateur attempt.

I remembered eating some good BK burgers so I jumped on my first opportunity to eat it while I was transferring a flight in SF. Biggest mistake of my life, the bun was so slimy with oil I didn't want to touch it let alone eat it. Old veggies and oversaucing left the whole thing a soggy mess and don't get me started on the patty.

On the other hand, Freshness Burger, Sasebo Burger/Log Kit and Ashiya Burger are not bad. I recommend you all try them out for comparison.

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Freshness Burger rocks...

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