Burger King has built a lot of its menu and marketing strategy around its signature sandwich, The Whopper.
The burger, which was actually created about a decade before McDonald's invented the Big Mac, has been reinvented countless times over the past few years. The core sandwich remains the same, but the chain has rolled out new varieties that leverage the famous name.
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It's a lot easier to sell people an Impossible Whopper, which replaces the burgers with a plant-based meat substitute, than it is to launch the Plant King (or whatever else the chain might call it.) That's a well the Restaurant Brands International QSR chain has gone to countless times for everything from the Angry Whopper (which featured jalapenos and a spicy sauce) to the California Whopper (which offered a guacamole topping).
Burger King has used its billion-dollar brand to get attention for sandwiches that would be much harder to sell without the Whopper name. McDonald's (MCD) -) has generally been a lot more protective of its Big Mac brand. The company did introduce a chicken version of the famed sandwich, the Chicken Big Mac, back in March, but most of its Big Mac innovation has been tweaking the size of the sandwich.
Now, the chain has brought a popular variant of the famed sandwich back to North America, but you'll have to go to Canada to try it (as well as two returning dipping sauces).
Image source: McDonald's
McDonald's brings back the Grand Big Mac
McDonald's actually has offered three Big Mac versions at various times. There's the Mac Junior, essentially a Quarter Pounder with Cheese that uses the Big Mac's famous list of fixings, the classic Big Mac, and the larger Grand Big Mac. (The chain has also offered the Double Big Mac with four burger patties and a Little Mac in select markets.)
"The Grand Big Mac is a wider version of the chain's iconic Big Mac, that features wider patties as well as a wider bun. Other than the bigger bun and bigger patty, the Grand Big Mac includes the same Special Sauce, shredded lettuce, two slices of processed cheddar cheese, pickles, and onions," Brand Eating, which first shared news of the sandwich's return, reported.
McDonald's is also bringing back two fan-favorite Chicken McNugget sauces to menus in Canada. It will add its Cajun dipping sauce and Sweet Chili dipping sauce -- two sauces first introduced by the chain as part of its BTS Meal in the U.S. -- to its Canadian offerings for a limited time.
The return of a BTS fan favorite
The BTS Meal was part of a series of celebrity orders that McDonald's shared with its customers. Most of those famous orders involved simply sharing what a well-known person ordered from the regular McDonald's menu.
Musician Travis Scott's meal, for example, consisted of a Quarter Pounder with cheese, shredded lettuce, and bacon along with fries with barbecue sauce for dipping, and a Sprite. Another music star, J. Balvin's McDonald's meal consisted of a Big Mac, medium fries with ketchup, and an Oreo McFlurry.
Both of those contain only items that are on the regular McDonald's menu while the BTS meal included two sauces that were new (at least in the U.S.).
"The BTS Meal has you (and your McNuggets) covered with limited-time sauces picked by BTS and inspired by McDonald’s South Korea. Add a little kick to your meal, whether you want sweet and sour with just a touch of heat from the Sweet Chili Sauce or hot mustard with chili and peppers in the all-new Cajun Sauce," the company shared.
