Editing Whopper (section)

=== Discontinued variants ===
{{see also |Burger King grilled chicken sandwiches}}
As part of the 45th anniversary of the Whopper sandwich in 2002, Burger King introduced a grilled chicken version of the sandwich called the Chicken Whopper and added a smaller Chicken Whopper Jr. sandwich along with a new Caesar salad sandwich topped with a Chicken Whopper patty.<ref>{{cite web |editor=Allen, Robin Lee |url=http://business.highbeam.com/409700/article-1G1-84019673/crown-jewels-new-marketing-product-rollouts-energize |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109013843/http://business.highbeam.com/409700/article-1G1-84019673/crown-jewels-new-marketing-product-rollouts-energize |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 November 2013 |title=Crown jewels: New marketing, product rollouts energize BK journey back to fast-food royalty |work=Nation's Restaurant News |date=18 March 2002 |type=subscription required}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|publisher=Burger King Corporation |url=http://www.bison.com/press_burgerking_05232002 |title=Burger King Sells 40 Millionth Chicken Whopper |date=23 May 2003 |type=subscription required |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090528101232/http://www.bison.com/press_burgerking_05232002 |archive-date=28 May 2009 }}</ref><ref name=CT-Chicken>{{cite news |last=Rector |first=Sylvia |title=Chicken rules fast-food roost |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2002/11/06/chicken-rules-fast-food-roost/ |access-date=23 September 2011 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=6 November 2002 |agency=Knight Ridder/Tribune |archive-date=7 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007120202/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-11-06/entertainment/0211060202_1_menu-board-national-chicken-council-panera-bread |url-status=live }}</ref> The introduction of the Chicken Whopper represented the company's first move to extend the Whopper brand name beyond beef based sandwiches since the original Whopper's introduction in the 1950s.<ref name="AB-Carrols">{{cite web |title=Carrols: Chicken Whopper Is A Bust |url=http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/eating-drinking-places/4274163-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070819184513/http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/eating-drinking-places/4274163-1.html |archive-date=19 August 2007 |work=All Business |publisher=Dun & Bradstreet |access-date=23 September 2011 |date=March 2003}}</ref> The sandwiches featured a whole chicken breast filet, weighing either {{convert |4.7 |oz |g |abbr=on}} for the larger sandwich or a {{convert |3.1 |oz |g |abbr=on}} for the Jr., mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomato on a sesame seed roll.<ref name="HC-Chick Whopper">{{cite news |last=Hoffman |first=Ken |title=Chicken sandwich grows up to be a Whopper |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl/2002_3535763/chicken-sandwich-grows-up-to-be-a-whopper.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022042827/http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl/2002_3535763/chicken-sandwich-grows-up-to-be-a-whopper.html |archive-date=22 October 2012 |access-date=23 September 2011 |newspaper=Houston Chronicle |date=12 April 2002 |page=5}}</ref> A newly reformulated low fat mayonnaise was introduced in conjunction with the new sandwiches.<ref name="BW-Sales">{{cite news|last=Wahlgren |first=Eric |title=Burger Makers' Not-So-Meaty Prospects |url=http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/apr2002/nf2002049_3504.htm |access-date=24 September 2011 |work=Business Week |date=9 April 2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111130021015/http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/apr2002/nf2002049_3504.htm |archive-date=30 November 2011 }}</ref> Along with the company's new [[BK Veggie]] sandwich, The Chicken Whopper Jr. version of the sandwich was lauded by the [[Center for Science in the Public Interest]] (CSPI) as being one of the best nutritionally sound products sold by a fast food chain. Conversely, the CSPI decried the rest of the Burger King menu as being vastly unhealthy.<ref>{{cite press release|title=CSPI Picks the Best and Worst Fast Foods |url=http://www.cspinet.org/new/200208211_print.html |publisher=Center for Science in the Public Interest |access-date=24 September 2011 |date=21 August 2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322210547/http://www.cspinet.org/new/200208211_print.html |archive-date=22 March 2012 }}</ref>

Development of the sandwich began in 2001 in response to several major factors.<ref name="CT-Chicken"/><ref name="USAT-Chick Whopper">{{cite news |last=Horovitz |first=Bruce |title=Fast-food giants always trying new tastes |url=https://www.usatoday.com/money/general/2002/07/03/fast-food.htm |access-date=24 September 2011 |newspaper=USA Today |date=3 July 2007 |archive-date=19 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080219234342/http://www.usatoday.com/money/general/2002/07/03/fast-food.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> After an overall sales decline of 17% coupled with a profit decline of 29%, Burger King held a series of consumer tests that showed the company's customer base was looking for a wider variety of options when making purchases.<ref name=CT-Chicken/><ref name="BW-Sales"/> Additional survey results revealed that a lack of newer products was discouraging consumers from visiting the chain.<ref name="USAT-Chick Whopper"/> Furthermore, the company was seeking to counter the threat to its sales by newer [[fast casual restaurant]]s that had begun to bite into sales.<ref name=CT-Chicken/> By July 2002, the chain had sold nearly fifty million of the sandwiches, eventually displacing the BK Broiler's initial launch figures as the company's best selling product introduction.<ref name="USAT-Chick Whopper" /><ref name="QSR-Chick Whopper">{{cite press release|title=50 Millionth Chicken Whopper Sandwich Will Be Sold Today |url=http://www2.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-01-2002/0001756551&EDATE= |publisher=Burger King Corporation |access-date=23 September 2011 |date=1 July 2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120516003441/http://www2.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=%2Fwww%2Fstory%2F07-01-2002%2F0001756551&EDATE= |archive-date=16 May 2012 }}</ref> The successful introduction of the Chicken Whopper was one of the few noted positive highlights of the company during negotiations for the sale of Burger King by its then owner [[Diageo]] to a group of investors led by the [[TPG Capital]]; Chicago-based consulting firm Technomic Inc. President Ron Paul was quoted that he was encouraged by recent product changes at Burger King such as the new Chicken Whopper, but he said it was too early to tell whether the changes have been successful.<ref name="SFC-BK sale">{{cite news |last=Colliver |first=Victoria |title=Whopper of a Deal |url=http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Whopper-of-a-deal-S-F-s-Texas-Pacific-Group-2791107.php2 |access-date=24 September 2011 |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |date=26 July 2002 |page=2 |archive-date=12 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112184216/http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Whopper-of-a-deal-S-F-s-Texas-Pacific-Group-2791107.php2 |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite the Chicken Whopper's initial success, just over a year after its introduction, enthusiasm for the product was waning; Burger King's largest franchisee, [[Carrols Corporation]], was complaining that the product line was a failure, describing the sandwich as a pedestrian product with a great name.<ref name="AB-Carrols"/>