• Burger King has partnered with a popular television show.
• The deal includes a brand new Whopper.
• The efforts are part of a broader turnaround plan.

Burger King has been engaging in a multi-year “Reclaim the Flame” program to revitalize its brand.

CEO Joshua Kobza believes those efforts have been working.

“I’m also encouraged by the continued progress at Burger King in the U.S. The team is making meaningful strides strengthening the brand’s value proposition through delicious menu innovation, better operations and impactful remodels. The benefits of this work are showing up in solid absolute results and sales outperformance versus the Burger QSR segment,” he shared during Restaurant Brands International’s third-quarter earnings call.

Menu innovation and leveraging the chain’s most popular product has been a key part of the turnaround efforts.

“We’re leaning into the Whopper, providing everyday value that guests can trust and reigniting Burger King’s connection with families through innovation and fun partnerships,” he shared.

Burger King has made The Whopper a key focus of its efforts to reinvigorate stores.

“Our Whopper By You platform is delivering strong results, engaging our guests through personalized takes on their favorite flame grilled burger. The Barbecue Brisket and Crispy Onion Whoppers exceeded expectations, reinforcing the power of our flagship product, and the platform’s extension to Whopper Junior is broadening our reach with women and Gen-Z guests,” he shared.

Now, the chain has a new partnership that checks off the “fun” Kobza referenced.

Burger King partners with SpongeBob

While Burger King has decided to stop short of opening a new location in a pineapple under the sea, it has partnered with the makers of “SpongeBob SquarePants.”

“Burger King is bringing a SpongeBob collab for all ages with a full meal, packaging, and toys,” Shared the Snackolator Instagram page.

The collaboration includes a new number of new menu items.”This is speculated to drop on December 2 and features Spongebob’s Krabby Whopper on a yellow square bun, Mr. Krabs’ Cheesy Bacon Tots, Patrick’s Star-berry Shortcake Pie, and Pirates Frozen Pineapple Float,” the site shared.

The promotion will also go beyond food.”There’s also a King Jr. Meal that has SpongeBob toys, a limited time SpongeBob crown, and packaging for everything that looks amazing, like a treasure chest, Whopper wrapping, cups, and bags,” Snackolator wrote.

“And then if you get the King Jr. Meal OR the Bikini Bottom Bundle, it is packaged in the most adorable Pineapple House!”

Burger King fans seem excited about the partnership.

“Ten times better than what Wendy’s did. I’m starting to love BK effort in their packaging again. This reminds me of the early 2000s growing up and getting stuff like this. Great to see it coming back,” wrote Dezzywolf.

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Another fan likes the partnership, but wishes it went a little farther.

“BK killing the collabs lately but I wish they had something kemp/seaweed even if’s just fry seasoning,” the _tsundere_bae posted.

Burger King has made The Whopper a key part of its turnaround efforts.

The Packaging Company/TheStreet

A look at Burger King’s “Reclaim the Flame” plan

• Launched in September 2022, the program is a multi‑year turnaround strategy for the U.S. business.
• Total initial investment will be $400 million over two years.
• The investment is broken into two primary components: “Fuel the Flame”: $150 million earmarked for advertising, digital investments, enhancing media firepower.

  “Royal Reset”: $250 million allocated for restaurant technology upgrades, kitchen equipment, building enhancements, remodels, and relocations.

• Franchisee involvement: The plan was developed in collaboration with franchise owners and was endorsed by over 93% of U.S. restaurants at launch.
• Key performance goals include: modernizing the restaurant fleet, improving guest experience, driving traffic back to the brand, and boosting franchisee profitability. Source: PR Newswire

  Some measurable outcomes to date:

  The company reports that remodeled stores (under the Royal Reset portion) have delivered strong sales lifts.

  Source: QSR Magazine

• The parent company has set targets for 85‑90% of restaurants to meet “modern image” standards by 2028. Source: Restaurant Dive

Burger King’s plan has been working

Truist Securities released a bullish report on Restaurant Brands International and Burger King’s turnaround efforts.

“Truist cited the effectiveness of menu innovation in the fast food sector, specifically highlighting the ‘Dragon Whopper’ which launched on May 27,” Investing.com reported. “The firm believes Burger King’s U.S. turnaround is ‘well underway,’ driven by improved operations, menu innovation, and restaurant remodels.”

Burger King’s numbers back that up:

• Same-store sales in the U.S. rose by 3.2% in Q3.
• Same-store sales were up 6.4% in international markets.
• Since launching Reclaim the Flame in 2022, Burger King consistently improved in guest-driven operational surveys, and revisit intent now ranks among the top 3 out of 12 QSR brands.
• Burger King plans to refranchise between 50 and 100 restaurants in 2025.

“Burger King also had a great quarter, outperforming most of the industry through consistent and disciplined execution of our plan. Across our businesses, our franchisees are more aligned than ever, and that partnership, combined with disciplined execution, has us firmly on track to deliver at least 8% organic Adjusted Operating Income growth this year,” Kobza said in the company’s third-quarter earnings release.

Industry analysts agree.

“In our view, RBI is pursuing the right strategy to help Burger King gain share via menu innovation, improved operations, and a value focus, without going overboard, wrote Andrew Charles of TD Cowen, Reuters reported.

A report from Pershing Square Holdings also noted that the comeback efforts are working well.

“The turnaround of Burger King U.S. is also progressing according to plan, with franchisee profitability exceeding expectations. QSR’s recent $1 billion acquisition of Carrols, its largest U.S. franchisee, is another major step in accelerating restaurant remodels and refranchising efforts. We expect this transition towards smaller, more entrepreneurial operators will further drive sustainable growth for the brand,” the company reported.