Burger King is updating its Whopper, so that’s one less thing that’s falling apart

Do you ever feel like everything is falling apart? Like nothing is stable? Like it’s all just slipping through your fingers?

Specifically, we’re talking about some people’s experience of eating a Whopper, but you’d be forgiven for thinking we’re speaking in metaphors.

Fast food chain Burger King announced Thursday that it’s updating its signature Whopper burger for the first time in a decade, adding a sturdier bun and serving it in a cardboard box after years of customer complaints about smashed burgers that fell apart.

“Are you one of the people that’s been asking me about why your burger is smushed? I think we have a solution for you,” Tom Curtis, president of Burger King U.S. and Canada, says in an Instagram video.

The company’s news release explains that the “higher-quality” Whopper includes a premium bun, a better tasting mayo and a box “to ensure it makes it to guests exactly the way it left the kitchen.”

CBC News has reached out to Burger King about whether the updated Whopper is coming to Canada, and not yet heard back. The U.S. news release only notes the new Whopper is rolling out “nationwide.”

When we asked at a downtown Toronto Burger King food court location Friday, it appeared that the new Whopper isn’t available yet.

While some people online rejoiced that “the buns finally won’t be a flattened paste,” not everyone is pleased with the changes. On the Burger King subreddit, some users complained that buns taste worse now, they miss the wrappers and that they preferred their burgers flattened.

“The volume of the new bun offsets the bread:meat ratio, which used to be perfect in my opinion,” one person wrote. 

“I like the burger diapers,” wrote another person, a reference to the burger wrapper that we now can’t unsee.

A focus on value

The fast-food industry has struggled in recent years as operating costs increase but consumers spend less. Rival chain Wendy’s, for instance, announced earlier in February that it’s closing several hundred U.S. restaurants and increasing its focus on value after a weaker-than-expected fourth quarter.

And restaurants overall are struggling to turn a profit, according to a new report from Restaurants Canada, which found that 26 per cent of restaurants surveyed were operating at a loss as of November 2025, while another 18 per cent were just breaking even.

They also face competition from other companies trying to move into that market. 7-Eleven Canada, for instance, is revamping its business model to offer more diverse and quality food, along with in-store dining options.

As Reuters notes, some fast-food chains are offering certain items at lower prices to attract consumers who were turning away from dining out due to high menu prices over the last two years.

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Fast food prices are climbing, and big chains like Chipotle say that they’re losing young adults who are cutting back on their spending. With cheap meal deals on the table at McDonald’s and Burger King, the battle for the future of fast food rests with Gen Z — but many of them are opting not to dine out.

McDonald’s cut prices on some U.S. combo meals in September. And in January, McDonald’s Canada announced it’s freezing the price of a small cup of coffee at $1 for at least a year and dropping the price of its McValue meals to $5 for the same duration.

Same-store sales at Burger King U.S. rose 2.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025, but missed estimates of a 3.5 per cent rise, according to Reuters.

Criticized for AI in headsets

Burger King, for its part, has focused on guest feedback with a recent initiative encouraging customers to call or text its president Tom Curtis directly. And that, according to the company, is why they decided to upgrade its Whopper.

But a glance at Burger King’s most recent Instagram post announcing the upgrade suggests the chain might have bigger problems than smushed buns. Many of the comments left on the post don’t mention the Whopper at all, and instead are critical of Burger King’s new initiative testing AI in employee headsets in 500 of its U.S. restaurants.

The system, called “Patty,” can track when employees say key words like “welcome,” “please” and “thank you” and share that with managers.

“Boycotting until you remove AI,” one person commented.

“AI monitoring your underpaid staff? Naaah time to go elsewhere,” wrote another person.

Burger King told The Associated Press the intent is to use Patty as a coaching tool, not a tracker of individual employees.