Not a Whopper fan? Burger King says 'no problem'

Burger King Korea's Chief Marketing Officer Lee Song-ha, left, speaks during a press conference at a Burger King restaurant in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of BKR

Burger King, the fast food franchise giant known for its Whopper burgers, has launched a new lineup tailored to meet the demands of Korean consumers, according to BKR, the operator of Burger King, on Wednesday.

Krispper, a lineup of chicken burgers, is the company’s new platform for its expanded menu options. The company launched two Krispper burgers during a press conference at one of its Seoul locations and will offer them at all restaurants nationwide on Thursday. The company also unveiled the campaign phrase, “I don’t like Whopper, but I love Krispper.”

The company said it launched the new burgers after confirming the rising demand for chicken burgers among consumers in Korea. It launched Krispper for the first time in Asia after its headquarters in Florida approved the region-specific menu options.

“Compared to other countries, Korea showed higher demands for chicken burgers,” Park Jin-a from BKR’s external affairs division said.

“We started developing the new platform last year ahead of other countries. Because of Korea’s unique global position in food markets, we've been closely cooperating with our U.S. headquarters for Krispper. They’re now keen on the platform’s performance in Korea.”

Burger King Korea's new Krispper Classic BLT set / Courtesy of BKR

The company’s chief marketing officer, Lee Song-ha, also highlighted Korean consumers’ particular interest in chicken burgers.

He said that Burger King has been so well represented by Whopper burgers on the grill that its presence among chicken burger fans has remained almost invisible.

“It’s not that the Whopper platform performed poorly, forcing us to come up with a new alternative,” Lee said. “Rather, chicken burger consumption is a significant global trend and we needed to respond to that. Globally speaking, consumption of beef burgers and chicken burgers are now roughly divided 6 to 4, respectively.”

Lee said the company had introduced chicken alternatives to Whopper as limited-time offers. But without a dedicated platform, they were short-lived, and popularity lasted only temporarily.

With Krispper, other options can be introduced under the same platform and retain sustainable market growth, he added.

“It’s not that Krispper saved us money by reducing production costs such as ingredient prices for chicken breasts for the new burgers. It was our pure strategy to diversify our portfolio,” Lee said. “The new platform will hopefully allow us to absorb the chicken-holic consumers.”

He declined to comment on ingredient prices of beef patties and chicken patties supplied to Burger King Korea.

Chicken burgers are a key category under major fast food companies in Korea. Mom’s Touch started in 2004, with chicken burgers as its main options, while McDonald’s Korea and Lotteria also offer chicken burgers.