BRAND REWIND

A Messy Burger Creates Sloppy Branding

Jun 29, 2022


Can you see what’s wrong with this picture, Burger King obviously doesn’t! Two vegan patties on a bun topped with American cheese, Bacon and more… I had to read this article twice to make sure I was reading it correctly. Burger King clearly does not understand the customer they’re selling to, which is troubling for this 70 year-old food company. Read the full details here.

I know many things have changed in the food industry but one thing hasn’t and that’s the importance of research.  Burger King obviously didn’t do its due diligence to research and understand the important nuances of a customer who decided to not eat meat!  To be clear, vegans and vegetarians don’t eat meat; bacon is meat!  Offering a vegan or vegetarian bacon on their burger completely goes against the reason of going “PLANT-based”.  To take it one-step further, American Cheese is also not PLANT-based; it comes from cows, which may be okay for a vegetarian, but not for a vegan.  The entire concept behind this Southwest Bacon Whopper is an epic failure and it is sad to see that Burger King could make such a mess of a burger. 

This BrandRewindTM moment comes with meat on Burger King’s vegan customer’s face… I have to ask, at what stage in their product development process do they have checks for customer feedback or accuracy? How did this product make it to the end of their process when it was doomed to fail from its inception? Attention brands, when you’re entering a new market or catering to a new customer, do your research. Ensure there are checkpoints in your product and marketing processes for accuracy and feedback before rushing to market to compete. Thankfully, this is a quick product fix, but unfortunately, it leaves your customer’s not trusting your integrity or feeling heard. Brands, you need to be assiduous!


Zoe Mitchell is the founder of Sharp Processes, a leadership consultancy focused on improving employee engagement using Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Psychological Safety and Process Improvement best practices with her 20 years of corporate senior leadership positions. She is also the author of Inclusive Leadership Now (available on Amazon).
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