As of: March 7, 2024, 5:50 a.m
By: Lennart Schwenck
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Burger King is lowering its prices for veggie dishes, increasing competition.
Is McDonald's now following suit?
Munich – There has always been a battle for market share between the big fast food giants such as McDonald's and Burger King.
When it comes to veggie products, Burger King is now going on the offensive and increasing the prices.
From March 2023, all plant-based products at Burger King will be ten cents cheaper than comparable meat-based products.
The group hopes that more guests will try out new things and discover alternative products.
Meat substitute products are in demand, production is increasing - and prices are falling?
In general, the business with meat substitute products made from soy, peas or wheat is on the rise - production has increased in recent years.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, a good 104,000 tons of meat substitute products were produced in Germany in 2022, 6,400 tons more than in the previous year.
However, these products are usually more expensive than their meaty counterparts.
To ensure that they are attractive to a wider audience and equally affordable, some stores use price adjustments.
In the fall, the supermarket chain Lidl also lowered the prices of its own vegan brand for veggie products to the level of comparable meat products.
Burger King lowers the prices for veggie products: an indirect declaration of war against its main competitor McDonald's?
© Imago Images / Lennart Schwenck
Price reduction at Burger King: “It’s not about profit optimization”
According to the company's own information, the decision to reduce prices is not based on the profit margin of the individual dishes, but rather on attracting more guests, according to managing director Jörg Ehmer.
“That has nothing to do with the price calculation.
It’s not about optimizing profits, but about sending a clear signal,” he explained.
The aim is to “give more guests the impetus to try out whether they also like plant-based food.”
Although Burger King does not provide specific figures on the sales shares of plant-based and meat-based products, Ehmer emphasized that the choice between the two options appeals to more guests.
Burger King Germany: Upgrading existing locations instead of opening new ones
Regarding Burger King's expansion in Germany, Ehmer puts the previously announced goal of 1,000 branches into perspective: “We currently have over 750 restaurants in Germany.
I've never been a fan of chasing pure expansion numbers.
I'm not revoking the number 1000, but I don't want to tie it to a fixed target date either."
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Instead, the company wants to optimize and upgrade its existing locations: “We are investing a lot of money here,” said the CEO.
Burger King Germany operated 145 restaurants directly at the end of last year.
There are also another 610 branches that are run by franchisees.
In Germany, Burger King is the second largest burger chain after McDonald's - with around 1,425 locations in Germany, the competitor operates twice as many branches as Burger King.
At least in the USA, McDonald's would like to further expand its market power: the company recently opened its first branch of the new restaurant brand CosMc's there.
Veggie burgers are becoming cheaper at Burger King - is McDonald's following suit?
When asked by
IPPEN.MEDIA
, McDonald's Germany explained that the restaurants in this country are mainly operated by franchisees and that they decide independently on pricing.
So there are no uniform prices in McDonald's restaurants across Germany.
The opposite is actually the case: At the beginning of the year, McDonald's even increased the prices of some products.
“The company headquarters, in turn, provides non-binding price recommendations, which are checked at regular intervals for balance and appropriateness.
The amount of this recommendation for the burgers depends, among other things, on the size, although our McPlant burger generally has a lower recommended retail price than comparable products in terms of size, such as the Royal TS hamburger," said a spokeswoman for McDonald's.
Meanwhile, an abandoned former McDonald's restaurant was recently discovered - with prices from 1994.
(ls/dpa)