More than a decade ago, Hardee's and Carl's Jr. proved fast-food consumers can get a burger that rivals sit-down restaurant offerings with the introduction of their 100 percent Black Angus Beef Thickburgers? and Six Dollar Burgers.
Now the chains have upped the ante yet again. Currently rolling out across the country, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's premium burger lines will soon be served on Fresh Baked Buns.
he raw bun dough is given time to rise or "proof" and is then baked, cooled, sliced and served. These are no ordinary hamburger buns in many other ways. Consumers will notice the buns are denser, a little sweeter (bringing out the flavor of the charbroiled 100 percent Black Angus beef patties) and, of course, baked fresh, then grilled so that each one is served perfectly hot, soft and delicious.
Following the recent completion of the Made from Scratch buttermilk biscuits roll-out at Carl's Jr., both chains now have ovens installed in virtually all of their locations. In addition to baking fresh biscuits for breakfast, the ovens also make it possible to prepare Fresh Baked Buns for lunch and dinner guests.
"For years, our goal at Carl's Jr. and Hardee's has been to make sit-down restaurant-quality food available to fast-food consumers, but I think we've even gone a step beyond that this time," said Brad Haley, chief marketing officer of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's.
"We're now not only the only major fast-food chains to offer 100 percent Black Angus beef burgers, but we're also the only ones to bake premium-quality buns for those burgers fresh in our restaurants, every day. Not many fine-dining restaurants even do that anymore. But, these aren't just basic hamburger buns that we've chosen to bake ourselves rather than have a commercial bakery make for us. They really are as good as or better than you could bake at home. In fact, we knew we were on to something in our test markets when customers started asking if they could buy a bag of buns to take home with them."
The Fresh Baked Buns launch will be supported by advertising created by Los Angeles- and Amsterdam-based creative agency 72andSunny. The commercials will begin airing across the country beginning Nov. 25 and also will be posted on the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's YouTube channels.
"Most people love the look and feel of great buns," Haley said. "So, our advertising campaign for Fresh Baked Buns will capitalize on that fact in a fun way."
Fresh Baked Buns are standard on any Six Dollar Thickburger at Carl's Jr. and one-third-pound Thickburgers at Hardee's. They also are available for substitution on any other burger or sandwich offering for an additional charge. Fresh Baked Buns received rave reviews in social media circles during local product tests in select Carl's Jr. and Hardee's locations.
Beginning mid-October, the first wave of restaurants began offering the Fresh Baked Buns as a regular menu item. All participating Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants will be serving Fresh Baked Buns by Nov. 14, 2013.
