Big N' Tasty

The Big N’ Tasty is a hamburger sold by the international fast food chain McDonald's. It is designed to compete with the Whopper sandwich.[1] A similar variation called the Big Tasty, without the center "N'", which was first released in Saudi Arabia, is sold outside the United States in parts of Europe, South America, South Africa, The Middle East, and Taiwan.

McDonald's Big N' Tasty
The Big N' Tasty Sandwich with a box of French fries
Nutritional value per 1 sandwich (206 g)
Energy526 kcal (2,200 kJ)
31 g (14%)
Sugars15 g
Dietary fiber6 g (13%)
30 g (37%)
Saturated8 g (42%)
Trans1.5 g
24 g (43%)
VitaminsQuantity
%DV†
Vitamin A120 IU
Vitamin C
8%
7 mg
MineralsQuantity
%DV†
Calcium
15%
150 mg
Iron
15%
2 mg
Sodium
53%
790 mg
Other constituentsQuantity
Energy from fat220 kcal (920 kJ)
Cholesterol82 mg (23%)
May vary outside U.S. market.
†Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.
Source: McDonald's

Product description

The Big N' Tasty consists of a seasoned quarter-pound (4 oz or 110 g) beef meat patty with ketchup, mayonnaise, slivered onions, two dill pickle slices, leaf lettuce, and one tomato slice on a sesame seed bun.

The Big Tasty configuration is somewhat different, consisting of a third-pound (151 g) beef patty, 5-inch (13 cm) sesame seed bun, square-cut lettuce, two tomato slices, sliced onions, three slices of Emmental cheese, and Big Tasty sauce (which has a smoke flavor[2]).

The Big Tasty Bacon variant also contains strips of streaky bacon. This variant is not available in the U.S., only internationally.

Variants

Regional variants

Discontinued and preceding variants

  • Big Xtra – The Big Xtra included the same ingredients as the Big N' Tasty, but the beef patty was seasoned with a spice and salt mixture unique to this burger. The patty was also larger, weighing 4.6 oz. It was quite popular in German McDonald's restaurants. It is still sold in Canadian Wal-Mart McDonald's locations only. (This is no longer sold in all locations).
  • McDLT – The McDLT (McDonald's Lettuce and Tomato) was served with mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, pickles, sliced onions, lettuce, American cheese, and two tomato slices. It was served in a Styrofoam container with two compartments in which one side contained the half with one bun and the hamburger, and the other compartment contained the bun with the cheese and other cold ingredients. It was advertised as a design to keep the hot side hot and the cold side cold.
See also: Quarter Pounder

History
Depiction of the McDLT packaging from its patent application

The Big N' Tasty is the latest in a series of burgers that were designed to compete against the Whopper from Burger King.[1] The first sandwich in this line of products was the McDLT, launched in 1984. It was sold in a novel form of packaging where the meat and bottom bun was prepared separately from the lettuce, tomato, cheese, pickles, sauces, and top bun and both were then packaged into a specially designed two-sided container.[5] The consumer was then expected to finalize preparation of it by combining the "hot" and "cool" sides just before eating. The company discontinued it between December 1990 and January 1991 to appear more environmentally friendly as it moved away from polystyrene packaging which was integral to the McDLT "experience".[6]

The McDLT was eventually succeeded by the McLean Deluxe in 1991. This was a lower fat burger that included carrageenan to replace the beef fat in the patty, and was served without mayonnaise.[7] While it tested well, it failed to catch on after the national roll-out and was discontinued in February 1996 in favor of the new Arch Deluxe,[7] an adult oriented burger that featured a higher quality roll and a dijon mustard based mayonnaise. It was also unsuccessful and was discontinued in 1998.[8]

The Big N' Tasty was introduced in 1997 and was originally tested in the California market, while the Big Xtra was test marketed in the Northeastern United States as the MBX;[9][10][11] during the simultaneous testing phase, either one could be sold depending upon the test market.[12] The Big N' Tasty was phased in nationally in 2000, displacing the Big Xtra in the United States. The national introduction was done to coincide with the opening of Disney's California Adventure. From 2002 until 2003, the Big N' Tasty was one of the flagship products for the McDonald's Dollar Menu. McDonald's removed the Big N' Tasty from the Dollar Menu on February 1, 2003, so that the Double Cheeseburger could take its place. McDonald's removed the Big N' Tasty from its menu in the United States on January 1, 2011.[13] However, the Big N' Tasty is still on the menu at McDonald's locations in US army and naval bases, including the restaurant at the US Naval Base in Yokosuka.

Advertising
  • The McDLT's marketing focused on variations of the theme "Keep the hot side hot, and the cool side cool", in a 1985 commercial released to market featuring Jason Alexander.[14] A subsequent campaign featured singers Aretha Franklin and Jerry Butler.
  • The 2001 national introduction of it featured a campaign that starred NBA player Kobe Bryant.
  • A 2002 commercial featured Cedric the Entertainer advertising the item, along with the Spicy McChicken, on the Dollar Menu, and featured the Grimace and The Hamburglar on each side of Cedric.
  • Due to its bigger patty, the Big Xtra was advertised as being larger than a Whopper.
  • There also was a 1985 commercial featuring former NFL Defensive Lineman and Chicago Bears legend William Perry along with teammates from their 85 Super Bowl XX Triumph.
  • In the Philippines, a version of the song "Mr. Sandman" with slightly altered lyrics was used in a TV advertisement promoting the Big N' Tasty.

International

The Big N' Tasty was first test marketed under a different name in a limited number of McDonald's restaurants in Sweden during the summer of 2003, followed by a national release during the autumn with the current name. In the UK, it launched in December 2003 with the advertising slogan "Sorry, America, but the Big Tasty is only for us Brits. I'm lovin' it. Sorry you're not". It was phased out of all restaurants in August 2005 as part of the menu clear up that made way for the launch of the Deli Sandwiches. It was reintroduced to the UK menu as part of the limited time offer program in the Autumn of 2006. It was again introduced to the menu in the summers of 2007, 2008, and continues to do so as a promotional item, generally during winter and summer when other food events (such as the World Cup or the company's popular Monopoly promotion) are not running. The Big Tasty returned in January 2013 as part of the January food promotion, and can come with/without bacon, and most recently has been made available with a barbecue sauce option ("Big Tasty BBQ") It was recently removed in Denmark and in the Netherlands for unknown reasons; it was reintroduced in the Netherlands on 2 April 2012.[15] It is still available at all McDonald's restaurants in Latvia, Norway, Greece and the majority of the restaurants in Sweden. The Big N' Tasty was also introduced to the Philippine market.

See also

References
  1. AP Newswire (July 2, 1997). "McDonald's hoping new burger a Whopper stopper". The Augusta Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 30, 2007. Retrieved October 23, 2007.
  2. "Product Nutrition". McDonald's UK.
  3. "We've got some news worth... - McDonald's Australia - Facebook". Facebook.
  4. "I'm lovin' it! McDonald's® Malaysia". Archived from the original on March 19, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  5. US 4653685, Leary, Sharon M.; Steward, John C. & Commisso, Nicholas D. et al., "Dual compartment sandwich package", published 1987-03-31, assigned to McDonald's Corp.
  6. John Holusha (November 2, 1990). "Packaging and Public Image: McDonald's Fills a Big Order". the New York Times. Retrieved May 29, 2008. ...the fast-food chain changed course, announcing yesterday that it would do away with its plastic foam "clamshell" hamburger box and switch to paper packaging.
  7. Anthony Ramírez (March 19, 1991). "Fast Food Lightens Up But Sales Are Often Thin". The New York Times. Retrieved October 6, 2007. For the McLean Deluxe, McDonald's uses carrageenan, a seaweed extract, to bind water to lean beef to moisten what would otherwise be a dry patty.
  8. Wally Bach (March 17, 2003). "McDonald's: When the Passion is Gone, the Profits are Over". MondayMemo.com. Archived from the original on November 17, 2007. Retrieved October 6, 2007.
  9. "Burger King Taking on Big Mac". Meat Industry News Service. August 28, 1997. Retrieved May 26, 2008. "In fact, it's even been dubbed as a potential 'Whopper Stopper'," restaurant consultant Dennis Lombardi of Technomic said of McDonald's "Big 'n Tasty," which is being tested in California.
  10. "McDonald's Is Testing Another Big Burger". the New York Times. December 29, 1997. Retrieved May 29, 2008. The company introduced the Big Xtra, a 4.5-ounce beef patty on a large sesame-seed bun, Friday in southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Kent and New Castle counties of Delaware.
  11. Arthur Lubow (April 19, 1998). "Steal This Burger". the New York Times. Retrieved May 29, 2008. At the end of last year, McDonald's began regional tests of a new lettuce-and-tomato burger, the McDonald's Big Xtra or MBX.
  12. The Gale Group (October 23, 2000). "McD's to test 'Diner,' kiosk; Big Xtra being axed". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved May 26, 2008. ...the chain said it would replace the Big Xtra burger nationwide in January with a faster-selling quarter-pound burger called Big N' Tasty, now sold at more than 2,000 units.
  13. Matt Bartosik (July 2, 2010). "Big N' Tasty Is Down N' Out". NBC Chicago. Retrieved October 17, 2011. The Oak Brook-based chain has announced to its franchisees that it will be taking the Mac Snack Wrap and Big N' Tasty off its menus by the end of the year, according to a company memo obtained by Crain's Chicago Business.
  14. "Jason Alexander sings and dances for the McDLT". Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  15. "McDonald's - Smeekbedes. Petities. Serenades.... - Facebook". Facebook.
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