How Burger King Lost to Wendy’s

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When it comes to fast food, McDonald’s is unrivaled in scale and success.  McDonald’s has held onto its crown, selling more fries, burgers, nuggets, and apple pies every year than any other fast food chain.  There is no challenger to the Golden Arches whether that’s overseas or on home field.  In the world of burgers, the fight for the top spot is futile. 

While the fight for first place is non-existent, the battle for second place in the burger wars is vicious. For decades, Burger King held second place with its signature flame-grilled Whopper, onion rings, and French Toast sticks. Burger King and a little red-haired girl by the name of Wendy’s have been in a constant battle for the number two spot behind McDonald’s.  While the King and the girl have traded places over the years, Wendy’s these days is the clear number two burger chain despite having significantly fewer locations and resources. 

Burger King’s fall is a timeless story of what happens when private equity takes over and over-simplifies business into a short-term, soulless optimization of numbers and shareholders over products and customers. In this episode, we’ll cover the toppling of Burger King and the rise of Wendy’s as a modern tale of David versus Goliath and how important vision is for all businesses that even burger flippers live or die based on their strategy.

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🎧 Audio Editing & Mixing: Sonalf

0:00 Battle for Second Place
4:22 The CFO Who Would Be King
16:59 Dawn of Private Equity
26:31 Have It One Way
34:51 Youth Wasted on The Young
43:12 Deliciously Different