Burger King Features Bacon on Two New Sandwiches

July 31, 2000

The Burger King Corporation has begun offering two chicken, club-style sandwiches featuring bacon on menus nationwide. Bacon consumption has increased 21 percent over the last three years and is one of consumers’ favorite sandwich toppings, according to research conducted by Technomics, Inc.

National Pork Producers Council officials say as checkoff-funded marketing efforts continue to put pork on menus nationwide, the growing popularity of bacon-topped sandwiches at restaurants is increasing live hog and retail pork prices for producers. At $2.603 per pound, the retail price of pork has hit record highs for five consecutive months.

"Much of the current increase in retail pork prices is a result of checkoff-funded programs that have increased demand for bacon and other pork products through exposure on menus worldwide," said Steve Schmeichel, a producer from Hurley, SD, and chair of the Demand Enhancement Committee for the NPPC.

The average price of a pound of sliced bacon was 17.8 percent higher in the first half of 2000 than during the first six months of 1999. The average price of pork in January-June 2000 was $2.536/pound, up 7% from the $2.371/pound average during the first half of 1999, according to Ron Plain, extension agricultural economist from the University of Missouri.

According to a checkoff-funded study, pork outpaced other meats with 1.3 billion additional pounds used in food service during a three-year period.