What can you get for $2 these days? Not much: It won't buy a pound of ground beef, nor will
it quite get you a gallon of milk.
At Burger King, though, you can get a new $2 deal that sounds more like a full meal.
Its Snack Box contains a cheeseburger, 10 chicken nuggets, medium fries, and a soda.
That's a big snack at around 1,300 calories. But be warned: It's not $2 everywhere. The
box's cost bumps up to $3 in costlier places to live like New York City. But even then,
"Oh, it's cheap. It's cheap!"
As Burger King was no doubt happy to see, the deal generated a lot of buzz on Twitter.
One Twitter user, @Trap_Lebron, said something to suggest that BK might be responding to
a recent low-cost meal deal at McDonald's:
"Does Burger King have your attention with their new $2 snack box or are you still down
with McDonald's Travis Scott?"
Others on Twitter were skeptical. @thepizzapopo_ tweeted,
"That $2 snack box [at] Burger King is fishy as hell. Like you're really offering 10pc
nuggets, medium size fries, a cheeseburger, AND a small drink...for $2??? Bye. Something
ain't right about that!"
Another user pondered what the Snack Box name really implies.
"The $2 Burger King 'Snack' Box subtlety implies that a Burger King 'Meal' Box exists for an
equally cheap price somewhere within our realm. I refuse to entertain the idea of how much
food that must consist of."
Burger King stepped up on Twitter to confirm the deal was real, but it's not something
you can simply ask for at the drive-thru. You need to pick up the coupon from the Burger
King app or through its website.
Does the $2 deal even make business sense? Believe it or not, there is a ready economic
explanation for such a good deal.
The principle at play is called elasticity of demand. Simply put, if more people buy
your product after you lower the price, you can make more money at the end of the day
even if the profit on each sale is lower. This assumes, of course, that you're making
a profit, and not selling more than $2 worth of food for $2.
That's the exact situation Burger King franchisees found themselves in, back in 2009. The BBC
reported the corporate office forced them to sell a double cheeseburger for $1 that
cost them $1.10 to make, and they sued. The franchisees agreed to drop the lawsuit in
exchange for more control over prices. This concession to owners probably explains why
the BK Snack Box is $3 in some places.
Burger King is most likely trying to lure customers who might otherwise go to McDonald's
for that Travis Scott meal or the new Spicy McNuggets. As the BBC reports, fast-food discounts
are meant to attract customers away from rivals and create new loyal fans of their brand.
Another key for Burger King is that the deal is only available online, which means the
chain can gather data on customers as people place their orders.
You can really get an idea of how truly cheap this meal is when you consider that a Burger
King cheeseburger by itself routinely sells for half the price of this entire meal, and
you get way more food and a drink with the Snack Box for just $1 more. It is likely this
will be an effective way to get more people in the doors, and really, compared to other
advertising efforts put into place by Burger King over the years, this $2 promotion seems
quite tame. It's possible that its complete inoffensiveness might draw more customers
in than their collection of questionable ads may have been able to do in the past.
"This is Abe holding a Big King and a Big Fish from Burger King, but you can also mix
and match."
Just this year, the company has run ads featuring a moldy burger to prove that their ingredients
are real and will decompose over time and a campaign centering on cow farts.
While the Snack Box doesn't include any new menu items, Twitter users still saw a chance
to review it on the social media platform. @bailey_whisler wrote,
"I got the $2 snack box from Burger King and I Iost the feeling in the left side of my
body."
Others just want to experience it in all its fast food glory. @yeemott wrote,
"Thinking about getting a $2 snack box from Burger King and calling it a day."
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more Mashed videos about fast food
chains are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss
a single one.