Burger King is launching its own $5 meal deal and will do so before rival McDonald’s can.
It is the latest development in the US fast-food wars that has seen the giant chains fighting to bring in customers amid high inflation and a cost-of-living crisis.
“We are bringing back our $5 ‘Your Way Meal’ as agreed upon with our franchisees back in April,” a Burger King spokesperson told Reuters.
The Burger King meal deal will include a choice of one of three sandwiches with nuggets, fries and a drink, according to a Bloomberg report.
The news service reported that the Burger King deal would launch before the McDonald’s offering and would last for several months.
The McDonald’s promotion is set to last for only four weeks, according to reports.
Their meal may include a McChicken or a McDouble along with fries and a drink, a source told Bloomberg. The Coca-Cola Company has also offered to put up funding to help roll out the deal.
Wendy’s last week announced its own $3 breakfast meal deal.
More Americans are opting to eat at home due to high rates of inflation which has directly affected the price of fast food. A standard McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with cheese meal now costs an estimated $11.99 - up from $5.39 a decade ago, according to personal finance site FinanceBuzz.
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said that the company had to be “laser-focussed on affordability”, on a recent earnings call.
However, the company looks likely to face significant problems convincing US franchise owners to roll out the offer. Earlier this year, 95 per cent of franchisees rejected the $5 Meal Deal due to concern over further loss of earnings.
This was particularly an issue for McDonald’s branches in California where a new law means that fast-food workers must be paid at least $20 an hour.
After that law took effect in April, fast-food outlets across the state have hiked prices.
