Burger chains are bringing back past hit items. They aim to reflect customer requests for relaunches and boost brand loyalty while securing steady demand by using items already proven in the market.
According to the industry on the 11th, major burger brands have recently been relaunching discontinued bestsellers one after another. Korea McDonald's has brought back the "Jinju pepper cream cheese burger," introduced last year through the "Taste of Korea" project, expanding it into four varieties—beef and chicken burgers, a muffin, and a sauce.
Burger King has relaunched the discontinued "Long Chicken Burger" and "Bulgogi Long Chicken Burger" for a limited time. Mom's Touch resumed sales of the "Nashville Hot Chicken Burger," and also brought back the "Amazing Spicy Mayo Burger" through its "Back to the Touch" project. Mom's Touch is running the Back to the Touch project this year, bringing back past hit items selected by customer votes every even-numbered month.
Lotteria, the burger franchise brand operated by Lotte GRS, also relaunched the "Bulgabi Burger," which ended sales in 2016, as a specialty item at select stores in April.
The biggest advantage of relaunches is that consumer response has already been validated. Based on past sales experience and revenue data, it is easier to forecast demand, and the strategy can draw loyal customers who have been waiting for familiar items back to stores.
A Korea McDonald's official said, "The Jinju pepper cream cheese burger was the most popular item in the 'Taste of Korea' project, and there were many customer requests to bring it back," adding, "Relaunched items have the advantage of being products verified by consumer response and past sales performance."
A Mom's Touch official said, "It is true that relaunches have advantages in preparation and development speed because there is an existing recipe," but noted, "The main goal is to strengthen customer loyalty and provide a brand experience to new customers as if it were a new item."
In the industry, some say the effectiveness of this strategy is growing as the burger market enters a mature phase. The longer a brand's history, the thicker the customer base that remembers past hit items, while at the same time more new consumers are encountering those items for the first time.
A burger industry official said, "The core fast-food demographic in their teens to 30s keeps changing over time," adding, "Relaunches can evoke nostalgia for existing customers and be received as new items by new customers—that is their strength."
Some, however, see the growing number of relaunches as partly reflecting the burden of developing new items. With dining-out prices rising, consumers are more inclined to choose familiar items over new ones, and the expense of developing new products has grown due to higher materials and supplies prices and labor costs.
Companies drew a line at interpretations that expanding relaunches means consolidating new items. A burger industry official said, "New product development always carries risk in any food sector," adding, "It is hard to say new items are harder to succeed just because relaunches are increasing. The industry is still steadily introducing new items every one to two months."
The industry expects relaunch and new-item strategies to continue in parallel. The outlook is to both raise brand loyalty by leveraging proven hit items and keep widening consumer choice through new attempts such as chef collaborations, loconomy, and seasonal limited items.
Lee Jong-u, a professor in the distribution marketing department at Namseoul University, said, "The burger industry has already tried most usable ingredients and combinations, so it is harder than before to roll out new items that surprise consumers," adding, "New products require heavy expense not only for development but also for marketing, store operations, and materials and supplies procurement, and it is difficult to guarantee success." He added, "In contrast, relaunching past hit items can reduce new product development and marketing expense while still generating a certain level of buzz and sales."