Burger King President Tom Curtis said customer phone calls helped the company revamp its signature Whopper and fuel a broader turnaround at the fast-food chain.
“We’ve been listening to our guests a lot lately,” Curtis told Jim Cramer on CNBC’s “Mad Money” on Friday. “I’ve personally taken 1,800 calls from guests, and we got over 70,000 incoming calls.”
Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of Burger King and Tim Hortons, reported better-than-expected results on Wednesday, fueled by another quarter of strong international growth and a successful turnaround in U.S. stores. Burger King U.S. posted 5.8% same-store sales growth in the three months ended in March, outperforming competitors that have recently warned about weaker consumer spending. That marks a clear acceleration from 1.6% same-store sales growth in 2025.
According to Curtis, customer feedback has played a central role in the company’s turnaround, helping shape everything down to changes to its Whopper.
“What we learned is that people love the Whopper, but sometimes they think it gets smushed,” he said. “Sometimes they didn’t quite like the bun that it was presented on. So we knew exactly where to go.”
Burger King spent more than two years evaluating possible changes to the sandwich, Curtis said, but ultimately decided to make only modest adjustments after hearing consumers wanted the core product left largely intact.
Restaurant Brands International CEO Joshua Kobza also highlighted the revamped sandwich on the company’s earnings call. He said the newly launched “Elevated Whopper” features “a new glazed bun, creamier mayo and clamshell packaging, which is driving positive guest feedback and the highest Whopper average unit volumes in over three years.”
The company’s renewed focus on customer feedback extends beyond menu items, according to Curtis. Burger King has also been renovating restaurants and improving the in-store experience as it works to attract more families.
“When you bring your family to a restaurant, you’re really entrusting that experience to a team and to what kind of facility they’re visiting,” Curtis said. “So it has to be a better experience.”
The strategy appears to be working. After implementing new King Junior meals and SpongeBob-themed family promotions, Curtis said kids meal sales have risen roughly 40% over the past six months.
He added that Burger King is still early in its broader turnaround effort as more restaurants across the system are modernized.
“We feel like we’re in the early innings of this transformation,” he said. “We feel like we have years of runway ahead of us where we’re going to continue to grow this brand.”
