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"   Salads, snack wraps, fruit smoothies, chicken strips, and specialty coffee drinks may sound like current menu items at McDonald&amp;#039;s, but these foods are all actually a part of Burger King&amp;#039;s new menu launch. According to the Washington Post, after suffering from decreasing sales and the blow of Wendy&amp;#039;s taking over the number two spot in the burger chain hierarchy, Burger King has launched 10 new menu items. It&amp;#039;s the biggest food change since the chain first opened in 1954. More From Delish: Healthy Fast-Food Alternatives The new menu items are remarkably similar to foods that McDonald&amp;#039;s introduced in previous years. Burger King is also focusing on health-related food trends, with the addition of salads, wraps, and smoothies. Burger King executives don&amp;#039;t deny that the news foods resemble those of their rival Mickey D&amp;#039;s. But Steve Wiborg, president of Burger King North America, said the new items were added based on research. &amp;quot;Consumers wanted more choices. Not just healthy choices, but choices they could get at the competition,&amp;quot; Wiborg said. Revamping the menu is only part of Burger King&amp;#039;s attempt to revitalize the chain, and they&amp;#039;ve been working on changes since last year. Burger King stores were modernized at an average of $250,000 per store (with 1,000 more stores to be updated this year), worker uniforms were redesigned to stay cleaner, and the Whopper was given a new home inside cardboard cartons instead of the previous paper wrapping. The Burger King makeover is ultimately an attempt to spread its horizons past the loyalty of young men, who have in the past made up the majority of customers at Burger King. While design changes help aesthetically, the most important part of the revamp is the food. However, the follower mentality used to create the new menu could be problematic. Eddie Yoon of The Cambridge Group consulting firm explained that unless the new Burger King products have a superior taste to those at McDonald&amp;#039;s or are offered at lower prices, the lack of innovation could keep customers loyal to the similar products at McDonald&amp;#039;s. The menu changes stemmed from the purchase of Burger King last year by the private equity firm 3G Capital. After the buy, Burger King was encouraged to move away from its burger mentality and embrace new, healthier foods, such as the honey mustard and ranch snack wraps that will now be available on the menu. The changes were decided by executives, franchisees, and suppliers who spent three months making exhausting decisions, such as choosing between 30 varieties of mayo and 400 flavors of vanilla. Consumer tests were also influential, changing Burger King&amp;#039;s original idea of Panini snack wraps to something almost identical to the snack wraps at McDonald&amp;#039;s. More From Delish: Global Fast Food: 23 Menu Items Sold Abroad To introduce the new menu items, Burger King has set up the biggest marketing campaign in the chain&amp;#039;s history. BK has celebs like David Beckham, Jay Leno, and Mary J. Blige creating hype over the new items. Do you think new menu items, updated stores, and star-power advertising can bring Burger King back to the top? "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.delish.com/food/news/a38881/burger-king-launches-new-menu/>