Burger King Whopper
A Burger King Whopper sandwich
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|
| Nutritional value per 1 sandwich (270 g) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 660 kcal (2,800 kJ) |
|
49 g
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| Sugars | 11 g |
| Dietary fiber | 2 g |
|
40 g
|
|
| Saturated | 12 g |
| Trans | 1.5 g |
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28 g
|
|
| Minerals | |
| Sodium |
(65%)
980 mg |
| Other constituents | |
| Energy from fat | 360 kcal (1,500 kJ) |
| Cholesterol | 90 mg |
|
|
| Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults. Source: www.BK.com (PDF) |
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The Whopper is the signature sandwich and an associated product line sold by international fast food restaurant chain Burger King and its Australian franchise Hungry Jack's. Introduced in 1957, the sandwich has undergone several reformulations such as portion resizing and bread changes. The hamburger version is well known in the fast food industry, with Burger King billing itself as "the Home of the Whopper" in its advertising, signage, and in its concept store, the BK Whopper Bar. Due to its position in the marketplace, the Whopper has prompted Burger King's competitors to try to develop similar products designed to compete against it.
Burger King sells several variants that are either seasonal or tailored to local tastes or customs. To promote the product, the restaurant occasionally releases limited-time variants. It is often at the center of advertising promotions, product tie-ins, and corporate practical jokes and hoaxes. Some of early twenty-first century advertising programs have drawn criticism for cultural insensitivity or misogyny. Burger King has registered many global trademarks to protect its investment in the product.
The Whopper was created in 1957 by Burger King co-founder James McLamore and originally sold for 37¢ (equivalent to US$3.26 in 2017). McLamore created the burger after he noticed that a rival restaurant was having success selling a larger burger. Believing that the success of the rival product was its size, he devised the Whopper, naming it so because he thought it conveyed "imagery of something big". Major fast food chains did not release a similar product, until the McDonald's Quarter Pounder and the Burger Chef Big Shef in the early 1970s.
Initially the sandwich was made with a plain bun; however, that changed when the company switched to a sesame-seeded bun around 1970. In 1985, the weight of the Whopper was increased to 4.2 oz (120 g), while the bun was replaced by a Kaiser roll. This was part of a program to improve the product and featured a US$30 million (approx US$66 million in 2014) advertising campaign featuring various celebrities such as Mr. T and Loretta Swit. The goal of the program was to help differentiate the company and its products from those of its competitors. The Whopper reverted to its previous size in 1987 when a new management team took over the company and reverted many of the changes initiated prior to 1985. The Whopper sandwich's Kaiser roll was changed back into a sesame seed bun in 1994, eliminating the last trace of the sandwich's 1985 reconfiguration.
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