Burger King and Mcdonald's Fast Food Restaurants Analysis
McDonald’s Burger King and McDonald’s are two of the most popular fast food restaurants and have been in competition for years. Both of the restaurants have been in business for over 50 years, though Burger King was started before McDonald’s. Burger King was established in 1953 as Insta-Burger based in Florida. The company ran into financial issues and was bought out by David Edgerton and James McLamore in 1954, and the name was then changed to Burger King and a year later, the king was introduced.
McDonald’s was first opened in 1940 by Dick and Mac McDonald in California as a drive-thru barbecue. After several attempts the brothers sold the business to Ray Kroc in 1955 and he established the McDonald’s franchise. These two are very similar in the types of food offered on the similar menus, but at the same time, they have a couple of major differences that place them in a category all their own. The biggest difference between these two establishments are the ways in which the food, more important, the burgers are prepared.
This may be the deciding factor between the two restaurants more than any other difference. Burger King always has been known for their flame-broiled burgers which are fire grilled to perfection to give them that outdoor grilled taste. Their best-selling burger is the Whopper, which was created by the founder in 1957, not knowing it would become their most famous burger. It is composed of a quarter pound beef patty, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup, and sliced onion on a sesame seed bun.
McDonald’s fries their burgers on a flat grill which gives them an indoor cooked taste.
Their best-selling burger is the Big Mac, which was introduced by one of the franchise owners in 1967 but was only offered in Uniontown, Pennsylvania until a year later when it was introduced nationally. Everyone always remembers the ingredients of the Big Mac by the song created for advertisement that goes: 2 all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun. As you can see the burgers are very similar besides a couple of condiments and toppings, which can be modified at each place.
One difference is the size of the burger and nutritional values for the beef patties. At Burger King, a patty weighs 121 grams, contains 670 calories, 12 grams of fat, 560 grams of salt and 30 grams of carbohydrates. McDonald’s patty weighs a little less at 100 grams, contains 540 calories, 9 grams of fat, 520 grams of salt but it contains 31 carbohydrates. After comparing the burger patties and taking in to account the size difference, there is not much difference in the nutritional value, only in the taste.
Another aspect that is comparable between the two restaurants is their menus and the items included on those. Both establishments are open and offer items for every meal throughout the day that include hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken, fries, soft drinks, shakes, desserts, and different breakfast items. Both franchises also offer combo meals, children’s meals, dollar menus, and give you the option to supersize your meal. The first couple of differences would be in the breakfast items.
Both restaurants offer biscuits, burritos, and now each has muffin sandwiches, though McDonald’s is known as a McMuffin. Each company does offer a signature sandwich only offered at their establishment. Burger King offers a croissian’wich, which consists of your choice of sausage and/or bacon, along with cheese and egg on a hot, buttery croissant. McDonald’s offers the McGriddle, which consists of your choice of bacon or sausage, with egg and cheese on two small pancakes that contain maple flavoring.
They do both offer hash browns, but Burger King gives an order of several small ones, whereas McDonald’s gives one large for an order. They both offer cinnamon rolls, but McDonald’s offer pancakes and Burger King offers French toast sticks, so it all comes down to what the customer feels like. The lunch and dinner menus are very much alike, for example, both franchises have expanded their menus over the past several years to include salads, wraps, smoothies, and fruit to help cater more to the vegetarians.
The main difference in the lunch and dinner menus is that Burger King offers an option between fries or onion rings, whereas McDonald’s does not have an alternative. Another difference in these two fast food places would be the goal and service that you receive when visiting those restaurants. McDonald’s focuses more on the quality of the food, rather than the speed in which it is served. Some customers have stated that when entering McDonald’s, you may feel unwelcomed until it is your turn to order. This is because employees take one order at a time and do not take another until the current order has been served.
Basically one employee takes your order, places it in the bag once it is made and then serves you the food before taking the next order. Burger King is more focused on the speediness of the service, but you are greeted at the door when you enter by at least one employee. One employee then takes your order and gives you a number and cup, if you have ordered a drink. The idea is that once you fill your drink, your order should be ready, in which you pick it up from another location from where the order was placed.
They both have different order placement and pick up procedures when visiting the inside, but both offer drive-thrus and playgrounds outside the buildings for your convenience. Both restaurants added drive-thrus in 1975, but McDonald’s had a playground in 1971, and Burger King did not add one until much later. After researching and comparing the two establishments, there are more similarities than differences, but they both have positives and negatives that attract different customers for different reasons.
It is because of those may similarities that these two popular fast food restaurants have been in competition, but it basically comes down to what type of burger you want, fried or flame broiled. This is the biggest debate when choosing between Burger King and McDonald’s, and it will most likely continue for several years. Burger King Corporation. (2013).
