New Delhi: As it gears up to open its first-ever restaurant in the country, Burger King India turned to eBay to help drive sales. The world’s second-largest burger outlet has started taking pre-orders for burgers through the popular auction site.
Burger King has received pre-orders for 1,200 ‘Whopper’ burgers, even before the launch of its first store in India. The American burger giant opens its doors in the country this Sunday on November 9 at New Delhi’s Select City Walk mall.
According to eBay, 540 chicken, 380 mutton and 240 vegetarian ‘Whoppers’ have been sold.
For the promotional price of Rs 128, locals can purchase a voucher for one of Burger King’s mutton-based Whopper burgers. Due to the large percentage of Indians that don’t eat beef and pork, the chain has localised its signature burger by offering mutton, chicken and vegetable-based alternatives.
Burger King India on Thursday said that there will be a separate queue for customers who ordered their burgers online through eBay. “Good news for all the Whopper Shoppers – we will have a separate queue for everyone who booked the Whopper on eBay India! See you all there on the 9th!” it said on its official Facebook page.
Customers who ordered their burgers on eBay would receive a coupon via courier, which they have to present at the store to get their burgers. As part of the promotional offer they will also get a free ‘Whopper’ T-shirt along with their burger.
Burger King plans to open 12 outlets in India over the next two to three months, with six in Delhi and six in Mumbai. The company is also eyeing additional locations in Pune, Chennai and Bangalore.
Founded in 1954, Burger King is the world’s second largest burger chain after McDonald’s. Burger King currently has 1,100 restaurants in the Asia Pacific region, ranking as their smallest market. The US and Canada continue to be the largest, with more than 7,400 restaurants out of the 13,667 total worldwide.