Innovation

Burger King restated its commitment to a “barbell” strategy, balancing premium products and value items. ⁽¹⁾ This approach offers something for every taste and budget, and is evident in the chain’s breakfast launches:

Breakfast Bowls for an all-in-one experience – eggs, potato, sausage, peppers, cheese, and a smoky cheese sauce.
Breakfast Ciabatta Club Sandwich for convenience - eggs, tomatoes, ham, bacon, American cheese, and smoky tomato sauce
Ultimate Breakfast Platter for big appetites - scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns, biscuit, and pancakes
Mini Blueberry Biscuits with vanilla icing for a sweet tooth

Wendy’s is entering the QSR breakfast market with a more upscale approach. The menu, currently being offered in Kansas City, Mo., Phoenix, Ariz., and Pittsburgh, Pa., and 10 Columbus, Ohio, restaurants, includes a variety of items, from value priced to more artisanal ingredients.

The Artisan Egg Sandwich is made with a cracked egg, Asiago cheese, hollandaise sauce, and applewood bacon on a square honey-wheat artisan muffin.
The Fire Roasted Burrito is grilled and has eggs, roasted peppers, poblano chiles, and applewood bacon stuffed into a multigrain tortilla with a signature hot sauce. Both are $1.99.
The Morning Melt Panini, which is $2.99, includes an egg omelet, Cheddar and Asiago cheeses, and bacon or sausage between slices of sourdough bread. ⁽²⁾

Taco Bell has tested breakfast before, but now the chain is expected to introduce a permanent menu for the morning daypart at its 5,600 restaurants in the U.S. sometime in late 2011 or 2012 following test markets in Tucson, Ariz., Bakersfield, Calif., Dayton, Ohio, and Baton Rouge, La. The menu currently being tested includes items such as the French Toast Deluxe breakfast sandwich, a Morning Wrap, and Cinnabons. It also features Seattle’s Best Coffee. ⁽²⁾

^{1 Burger King, Quarterly Analyst Call Transcript
2 Mintel, Breakfast Restaurant Trends, February 2011}