Why Burger King is copying this McDonald's sandwich

Fewer fast-food customers these days are asking “where’s the beef?”

Instead, they want healthier items, local ingredients, a gourmet touch -- and as temperatures rise, a taste of outdoor cooking.

That’s why Burger King’s (BKW) summer menu this year will feature a rib sandwich clearly modeled after McDonald’s (MCD) famous McRib smashup. The item is brand new for Burger King, which plans to differentiate its pork pile by serving it on an "artisanal bun," while topping it with "sweet and tangy" barbecue sauce and "crispy bread and butter pickles." Other new items for Burger King: A barbecue chicken sandwich, Buffalo chicken strips and a variety of Oreo-flavored desserts.

The summer menu, which Burger King will offer beginning May 21, also includes a few repeat items that proved popular last summer, such as sweet-potato fries, a pulled-pork sandwich and a Carolina-style barbecue Whopper. Typical prices for the sandwiches will be $3.49, or $5.59 for a combo with fries and a soda.

Like the McRib, Burger King’s summer items will be limited-time offers, or LTOs in industry parlance, since they tend to have seasonal appeal that declines in cooler months. Fast-food chains also generally benefit from the publicity (such as, well, this story) that comes from “introducing” new menu items, even if they’re perennial favorites.

But for Burger King, the new summer menu needs to accomplish more than simply spicing up a traditional set of offerings. The fast-food business has become a cutthroat industry, mainly because diners have been cutting back and, for some chains, growth has stalled.

“The only way to grow is by stealing market share from somebody else,” says Scott Hume, editor of the blog BurgerBusiness.com, which first reported details of Burger King’s summer menu. “And you’re only going to steal share if you get noticed, if you get consumers saying, ‘that’s new, I’ll try that.’”