Burger King’s Next Whopper Could Be Your Idea

Consumers seem to have more cred with fast-food chains these days.

Burger King will start serving customer-suggested remakes of the Whopper—beginning with a BBQ brisket version—on July 15, the company said Wednesday. The chain, owned by Restaurant Brands International (QSR), plans to keep the collaborations coming, launching a “Whopper By You” platform through which customers can suggest new iterations of the sandwich that may make it on to the menu.

Multiple diners urged Burger King to bring back a smoky BBQ flavor, which inspired the BBQ Brisket Whopper, spokeswoman Chelsea Buda said in an email. The next “Whopper by You” sandwich is already lined up, she said, and additional suggestions will be welcome at BK.com/WBY.

“We want to continue letting our Guests tell us what they want,” Joel Yashinsky, chief marketing officer of Burger King U.S. and Canada, said in a statement. 

Fast-food chains have sought to bring back inflation-weary diners, largely by offering value meals and other price promotions. But dining operations are also in a crowd-sourcing phase: McDonald’s (MCD), for example, credited consumer demand for the return of the Snack Wrap, a chicken strip wrapped in a tortilla with lettuce and cheese.

“Fans never gave up on the Snack Wrap, inspiring the ultimate comeback,” the company said last month.

In the pizza world, Papa John’s (PZZA) executives acknowledged a drumbeat of demand for a stuffed-crust pie when it launched them in March.

And Arby’s in February said that it would permanently bring back Potato Cakes, citing its customers’ “excitement” and “disappointment” at their past comings and goings and inviting fans to sign on to a “pre-class action lawsuit”—under which Arby’s agrees to distribute $1 million in food to signees—if it discontinues the hashbrown-esque wedges before the end of 2026.

“We listened to their pleas on social media, and we aren’t going to let Arby’s get away with removing Potato Cakes from the menu again,” Jeff Baker, chief marketing officer at Arby’s, said in a statement.