Skip to footer

Burger customization meets crowdsourcing

South St. Burger is basing burger ideas on customers' photos of custom burgers, Carl's Jr. and UFC's Ronda Rousey have entered the ring together, and McDonald's is making LTOs local decisions. 

|
Yuya Shino/Reuters/File
A customer using his mobile phone is seen next to a McDonald's logo at a McDonald's store in Tokyo July 22, 2014.

Fan photos of their customized burger creations have become Facebook staples for many burger chains and bars. Canada’s South St. Burger is taking that idea a step farther by creating what it’s calling a “Not-So-Secret” Menu. These are four new sandwiches inspired by customer’s photos of custom burgers. These are made possible by what the chain claims are the 730 million ways to order a burger because of its extensive array of topping options. They join the menu in celebration of the concept’s 10th  birthday on August 30.

The Burgers are Mac’s Big Burger (two 4-oz. patties with two cheese slices, lettuce, pickles, onions and house South St. Sauce; The South St. Chicken Club (a club sandwich with grilled chicken breast, bacon, cheese, tomatoes lettuce and garlic mayo); The Cheesy Vegetarian (a veggie patty with cheese); and The Naughty Vegetarian (a veggie patty with bacon).

Hungry for more ideas, 30-unit South St. Burger is inviting diners to submit photos of their customized burgers via Twitter, Instagram or the chain’s Facebook page. Winners get Burger Bucks (vouchers that can be redeemed for anything in the restaurant).

————-

That Carl’s Jr. and UFC fighter Ronda Rousey found each other makes sense. The chain likes female spokespersons because its clientele skews heavily male. That it’s for something described as “sweet and savory” less so. Beginning August 31, she’ll appear in TV spot for Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s new Cinnamon Swirl French Toast Breakfast Sandwich.

The build is a fluffy folded egg with melting American cheese; choice of sausage, ham or bacon; a maple syrup sauce drizzle and two slices of Cinnamon Swirl French Toast. Suggested price is $2.99, or $4.69 in a combo with hash browns and a beverage.

—————

The epitome of McDonald’s strategic shift allowing local markets to determine local LTOs may be the reappearance of Mighty Wings at its stores in Detroit now. During the item’s national appearance in 2013, the chain sold 40 million pounds of its 50 million-pound stock. McDonald’s many haters in the media gleefully called the item a flop. I thought 40 million pounds was a lot of chicken to have sold.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Burger customization meets crowdsourcing
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/The-Bite/2015/0831/Burger-customization-meets-crowdsourcing
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe