Jack in the Box’s soft open of its new Smashed Jack burger was apparently anything but soft.
The San Diego-based burger chain on Jan. 1 introduced its new burger, which features a quarter-pound “smashed-inspired” burger patty, a new “Boss Sauce,” grilled onions and pickles. It was a “soft open,” CEO Darin Harris said.
But the burger has sold so well since then that the company now expects to run out of supplies next week.
“We’ve already had tremendous feedback from our guests on how much they love it,” Harris told investors at the ICR Conference on Tuesday. “To the point, it substantially outperformed our forecast.”
He said the burger “doubled our forecasts” for sales. Once the company runs out of the product next week, Harris said, “we’ll prepare and build inventory so we can launch in March.”
Customers have flocked to restaurants in recent years to buy interesting new products or menu items that returned after a hiatus, such as Popeyes chicken sandwich and then in 2022 Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza. The products are introduced, customers snap them up, and companies “run out of supplies” and pull the item.
For Jack in the Box, the early popularity of the Smashed Jack is key because the chain is eager for new menu news. “The last couple of years we talked about some game-changing products,” Harris said.
Jack in the Box has been aggressively pushing new unit growth. To get those new units, the company needs to build sales. And new products can help accomplish that goal.
Jack in the Box spent two years developing the burger, hoping to jump on a trend of smashburgers that are popular on social media. The burger is smashed in a way that gets the crispy edges that make such burgers popular without sacrificing the thickness of the patty itself.
Harris called the Smashed Jack “hands down one of the best burgers in QSR.” “We’re excited about this product and what it could do for Jack in the Box,” he said. “It’s game-changing for the brand.”
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