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QSR breakfast sandwich taste test
QSRweb.com conducted an informal taste test pitting Burger King's and Subway's new offerings against McDonald's Egg McMuffin.
April 22, 2010
With the breakfast wars heating up, QSRweb.com conducted an informal taste test comparing two new entries into the breakfast sandwich category with McDonald's McMuffin offerings.
Our panelists compared Burger King's BK Breakfast Muffin Sandwich to McDonald's Sausage McMufffin because the two sandwiches contain similar ingredients. Then they compared Subway's new English muffin sandwiches to other varieties of the McMuffin. (Subway does not offer a sausage product.)
Our taste test revealed that McDonald's owns the breakfast daypart for a reason. Most panelists preferred its sandwiches for their taste, quality and appearance.
But the test also showed that Burger King has done a fairly good job of mimicking the McDonald's McMuffin. Several of the panelists were convinced that the Burger King sandwich was from McDonald's. But when comparing taste, three out of five panelists preferred McDonald's.
Panelists said they liked the McDonald's product because it provided a combination of flavors as well as real egg. They thought the Burger King sandwich had a bland egg and the muffin tasted oily.Those who liked the Burger King sandwich said the sausage had more flavor.
Still, three participants said they would be somewhat likely or likely to buy the Burger King sandwich. Four of the five said they would be somewhat to very likely to purchase the McDonald's offering.
Subway vs. McDonald's
For the McDonald's vs. Subway taste test, panelists compared Subway's Black Forest, Egg and Cheese sandwich on a light wheat English muffin and the McDonald's Egg McMuffin, which features a slice of Canadian bacon.
The two sandwich ingredients were not as similar as the Burger King and McDonald's sausage products, but were the closest equivalents.
Four out of five panelists preferred the McDonald's Egg McMuffin. They said it tasted fresher and had a better blend of flavors. They complained that the Subway sandwich tasted mostly of the muffin, which at least one participant said tasted unpleasant.
The participant who preferred the Subway sandwich liked the honey flavor of the ham.
When shown the actual sandwiches, all five participants thought the McDonald's sandwich looked more appealing, with a thicker slice of ham; a fluffier egg round obviously made from the whole egg; and an obvious slice of cheese. McDonald's English muffin also was taller than the Subway product, they said.
The panel also compared a McDonald's McMuffin without Canadian bacon to Subway's Egg & Cheese muffin sandwich.
All five panelists preferred the McDonald's sandwich. They said the McDonald's Egg McMuffin tasted like real egg and real cheese. One panelist said he liked being able to taste the whole egg rather than the scrambled taste of the Subway egg omelet. Several panelists mistook the Subway melted white American cheese for a strange-tasting sauce.
Better-for-you options
Panelists also tested Subway's Egg White sandwich and found they could not taste a difference between the egg omelet and egg-white-only omelet. While two panelists said they would be more likely to order the egg-white sandwich because it was healthier, three out of five said they would most likely not order either Subway sandwich.
QSRweb.com shared the lower calorie and fat content of the egg-white-only sandwich and asked the panel if they would be more likely to visit Subway knowing its offerings were better-for-you. Two panelists said they would be likely to visit Subway on occasion because of its healthier options, mainly because they liked having the option of adding vegetables to their sandwich.
Four out of five participants said that if there were no taste difference in the sandwiches, they would prefer to visit a quick-service restaurant that allowed them to add their choice of toppings. Of the toppings available at Subway, the two choices the participants would most like on their breakfast sandwich were tomato and jalapeno.
Some panelists also would like the option of adding hot sauce or salsa. And a customer who as at Subway when we ordered the sandwiches — who happened to be a returning customer ordering an egg-white sandwich — said he would like the option of adding ketchup to his sandwich.
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