Hey, get your red hots – sauce-infused red-hot buns, that is!
Having debuted Grilled Dogs last month, Burger King barkers are now heralding the new “Angriest Whopper” sandwich rolled out at the chain’s restaurants in the United States on March 30. Available for a limited time only, the bounteous burger is priced at $5.49, or $7.49 when offered as the centerpiece of a combination meal with fries and a small drink.
The product consists of savory flame-grilled beef piled high with thick-cut bacon, American cheese, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, crispy onion petals, jalapeños, mayonnaise and a “spicy angry sauce” – all layered between a fiery red bun that contains baked-in hot sauce.
Burger King first debuted a colored bun in the USA during the autumn of 2015 with the A.1. Halloween Whopper sandwich featuring hearty A.1. Sauce from Kraft Heinz baked into a pitch-black bun.
“The black bun of our A.1. Halloween Whopper created a lot of conversation and our previous limited-time Angry Whopper sandwich was a hit with guests,” said Axel Schwan, the company’s Miami, Florida-based global chief marketing officer. “So, we’re combining the power of these past hits into a star-studded sandwich we think our guests will agree is the next must-eat burger.”
A 30-second video accompanying the launch has been released. Produced in the style of a cinema-like trailer promoting an epic movie sequel, it leads off with the announcement: “At a Burger King Restaurant Near You.” The clip then erupts with molten lava flowing from a volcano, followed by a flame-grilling scene and a voice over proclaiming: “No matter how intense it gets, no matter how hot the situation becomes, the only way to handle the heat is to embrace it.”
While American consumers are seeing red buns at Burger King for the first time, red has already starred as the “new black” at the chain’s outlets in Japan. Last July Aka Samurai Chicken and Beef Burgers were served up featuring red buns and red cheese (each colored naturally with tomato powder) accented with red sauce made from miso paste, chili and red pepper. Both remained on sale for a limited period through mid-August.
Tokyo-headquartered Burger King Japan, which first unveiled limited-time black burgers in 2012, has enjoyed continued success with the concept every year since. The Kuro Pearl Burger (kuro means black in Japanese) and Kuro Diamond Burger (a deluxe option with tomato, lettuce and onions) outsold other new products and helped to “paint” the bottom line black. – Reported by John Saulnier
