Burger King buffs up the Whopper for ‘high-quality experience’

Mike Snider, USA TODAY

Fri, February 27, 2026 at 5:28 AM GMT+9 2 min read

Burger King is buffing up the Whopper for the first time in a decade.

The improvements come after the fast-food chain’s president Tom Curtis earlier this month invited customers to call or text him with feedback about their experiences at Burger King.

Some of those comments led to these changes to Burger King’s flagship sandwich, the first changes in nearly ten years, the company says in a news release. The Whopper now has a “more premium, better tasting bun,” and is “served in a box to ensure it makes it to Guests exactly the way it left the kitchen,” according to the company.

The sandwich, which continues to be served with lettuce, pickles, onions and tomatoes, is also dressed with “better tasting mayo.” The goal, according to Burger King? “An even higher-quality experience from bun to toppings to packaging, for the perfect bite, every time.”

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The box solves complaints Burger King got about smushed Whoppers.

“Are you one of the people that’s been asking me about why your Whopper is getting smushed?” Curtis asks in a video posted on Instagram. “I think we have a solution for you.”

The changes to the Whopper come as fast-food restaurants continue to offer value meals and bigger burgers to meet the budgets and appetites of consumers. McDonald’s is adding its biggest burger ever, the Big Arch, to its menu March 3.

Last month, Burger King launched a $4.99 double cheeseburger, fries and a drink combo to go with its $5 Duo and $7 Trio combos – and just brought its Maple Bourbon BBQ Whopper back to the menu.

“Over the past several years, we’ve focused on strengthening our operations and modernizing our restaurants to build a more consistent foundation across the system,” said Tom Curtis, president of Burger King U.S. & Canada, in a news release. “With that work well underway, we’re now in a position to thoughtfully elevate our core menu. The Whopper is an icon, so we didn’t set out to reinvent it. Instead, we elevated it based on direct Guest feedback.”

AI comes to the burger kingdom

Also cooking at Burger King: the chain is beginning to deploy an AI chatbot called BK Assistant to monitor whether employees are being polite to customers.

Burger King is making changes to the Whopper for the first time in nearly 10 years.

Contributing: Kate Perez and Michelle Del Rey

_ Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at  mikegsnider  &  @mikegsnider.bsky.social _ &  @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Burger King buffs up the Whopper after customer complaints

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