Burger King is getting its swagger back just months after bringing in a sandwich guru to revive the company’s signature burger.

The company is attracting customers at a faster rate than McDonald’s and Wendy’s thanks, in part, to head chef Amy Alarcon’s overhaul of the Whopper.

“A lot of people are saying they’re coming back for the first time in a long time,” Burger King president Tom Curtis told *The Wall Street Journal. *

Alarcon previously worked at Popeyes and designed the chicken sandwich that became a viral sensation in 2019. It was so popular it sold out and was unavailable for around two months, USA Today reported at the time.

Burger King, which has just under 7,000 U.S. locations, has struggled against competitors in recent years. But the chain saw U.S. sales rise 8.5 percent year-on-year in the last financial quarter. That beats McDonald’s 2.5 percent growth and Wendy’s 6.5 percent decline over the same April-June period.

Restaurant Brands International, which owns Burger King and Popeye’s, said in December it was moving Alarcon from the chicken franchise to its burger brand.

Three months later, it announced a reimagined Whopper featuring three key upgrades - a premium brioche bun, a box to help the burger keep its shape and creamier mayonnaise. It was the first changes to the burger in nearly a decade, the company said.

The Independent contacted Burger King for comment.

Alarcon has worked in the fast food industry for more than 30 years after graduating from the Atlanta-based Art Institute School of Culinary Arts in 1992.

She joined Church’s Chicken as a research and development chef in 1993, before working at Taco Cabana and Arby's.She became Popeyes' vice president of culinary innovation in 2007.

It took the chef and her team nearly three years to develop Popeyes’ viral chicken sandwich, doing extensive research and testing on buns, pickles, buttermilk breading and other aspects, according to the company.

Five months into her research, she tested the sandwich with consumers. It was a hit. “One of the best scores I’ve ever gotten of any product I’ve done in consumer research,” she told culture publication Thrillist in 2019.

When the sandwich launched in August 19, it was met with praise - The New Yorker titled its article about the creation, “The Popeyes Chicken Sandwich Is Here To Save America.”

Alarcon’s Whopper update is part of an overall strategy launched in February to provide a better customer experience that Burger King calls its “Listening Initiative.” Curtis had offered his direct phone line to customers for comments about the new burger and took an estimated 3,300 calls.

“When we asked guests where we could do better, they gave us a lot of honest feedback, and now it's our responsibility to act on it,” Curtis said in a July statement.

Burger King’s U.S. sales growth from April to June was its fifth consecutive positive quarter and sixth in the past seven quarters, outshining its top two competitors - McDonald’s and Wendy’s.

McDonald’s also has five consecutive quarters of positive U.S. sales figures, but that growth isn’t as aggressive as Burger King’s.

From April 2025 to June 2026, the Golden Arches’ average U.S. sales growth was 3.3 percent per quarter, while Burger King’s average growth over that same period was 4.2 percent.

Meanwhile, Wendy’s has endured six straight quarters of U.S. sales losses.

Burger King’s strong sales numbers have pushed the company back into the No. 2 spot for America’s biggest fast-food burger chains.

The company doesn’t seem to be taking its foot off the gas either. Burger King announced in early August it planned to hire up to 60,000 U.S. workers to meet customer demand.