Burger King Tries To Steal All Of Taco Bell's Drunk Late Night Fans With Whopperito

Social media has been buzzing with chatter over the latest clever creation by the marketing and culinary teams at Restaurant Brands (QSR) - Get Report Burger King division. The Whopperito -- which takes the ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes and pickles from the chain's signature Whopper burger and slathers on some cheese sauce and wraps it in a giant tortilla -- launched nationwide Monday for a limited-time. Priced at $2.99, the Whopperito takes aim at the late-night -- often drunken -- crowds that pile into Yum! Brands (YUM) - Get Report Taco Bell division for some cheap Mexican-inspired chow. Ridiculous-sounding food mashups are nothing new to Burger King, who has used them successfully over the past year to drive traffic in the always competitive fast-food space. In July, the chain launched Mac n' Cheetos, which is a portable combination of mac n' cheese covered with crispy Cheetos flavor. In April, the company took its popular chicken fries rings nationwide. These more appetizer-like product launches came on the heels of a major hot dog platform roll-out in February across all of its 7,150 North America locations. And in March it unveiled the Angriest Whopper, a burger with a red bun, jalapenos and hot sauce. Weird fast-food seems to be working for Burger King. Same-restaurant sales at Burger King's U.S. business were unchanged in the second quarter due to the broader slowdown in the fast-food industry thanks to a shaky economy that sent people back to eating at home. But, the results outpaced many of the company's closest competitors. In the first quarter, same-store sales rose a solid 4.2%. Wall Street has rewarded Restaurant Brands for its outside the box thinking. Shares of Restaurant Brands have gained 27% this year over the past 12 months, out-performing the S&P 500's 7.1% increase. TheStreet reviewed the Whopperito inside a downtown Manhattan location. Although it wasn't life-changing and lacked the creativity of prior launches such as Mac n' Cheetos and chicken fries, the Whopperito was edible. And for the price, especially compared to a Chipotle (CMG) - Get Report burrito that could fetch over $10 depending on location, the Whopperito will likely find a following for as long as it's available.