While most of us think of a meal as a way to satisfy our appetites, a select group of folks view them not as fuel but as a challenge.
We've all seen an eating contest or two, where pros line up to eat enormous amounts of food after dutifully working on expanding their stomach capacity.
While not everyone wants to turn eating into a sport, many amateurs are more than willing to take on eating challenges at local restaurants just for the fun of it. It's typical to get the meal free if you can finish one, but you'll likely be eating pounds of meat in the process.
And if there's one thing that Restaurant Brand International's (QSR) Burger King is not afraid of, it's going big -- to the point that average customers couldn't fit the burger in their mouths.
It makes perfect sense for the company to host an eating-challenge event. It's not only an ideal strategy to earn free promotion from its loyal customers, but it will also drive more people to its restaurants to see if this immense meat stack is as big as it looks in one or another photo or video.
Burger King Japan
Burger King's Eating Challenge
Burger King kicks off its "One Pound Beef Burger The Challenge" event today at six participating locations in Japan.
As you can see, the burger in question (known formally as the Maximum One Pound Beef Burger) has four quarter-pound flame-broiled patties on it, as well as bacon, to live up to its name (not to mention eating it will pile on 1,633 calories).
Participants are granted 45 minutes to consume the burger and a side of fries. Whether you finish the meal or not, you still get the t-shirt above for participating in the event.
It will run through July 16 and is already sold out, according to the official signup page. A tweet from the official Burger King Japan Twitter account says that the company is considering holding another eating competition this year due to the popularity of ticket sales for this one.
And it's not quite the end of this event when July 16 comes and goes because a second event will take place on Aug. 7 to honor the determination of those who managed to eat multiple burgers at each of the six locations.
That event will be the most exciting of all for competitive-eating enthusiasts because Japanese legends Max Suzuki and Nobuki "Giant" Shirota will be in attendance to greet the finalists.
Suzuki, the top competitive eater in Japan, made his U.S. debut in 2018 as winner of the Nathan's Famous qualifier in Las Vegas. He ate 42.5 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes.
Burger King's International Business Is Strong
RBI has clearly done its homework for launching an event like this in Japan, as there is considerable interest in the competitive eating scene in certain parts of the country.
While RBI has made clear it aims to focus on developing its properties across the world, its business in international markets has been one of its strengths in past years.
Joshua Kobza, Restaurant Brands International's chief operating officer, highlighted this growth in the company's third-quarter-earnings call in 2021.
"The success of our global development playbook is readily apparent when looking at Burger King's international growth, which includes a doubling of the brand's international store count since 2012 to nearly 12,000 locations and roughly 60% of the brand's worldwide systemwide sales," he said.
