Dairy Queen expands its burger menu as it looks beyond Blizzards, and other desserts.

Dairy Queen has expanded its Stackburger menu by adding five burger varieties to the American market: Original Cheeseburger (Flamethrower), Loaded A1, Bacon Two Cheese Deluxe (2 Cheese Deluxe), Two Cheese Deluxe (1 Cheese Deluxe) and Bacon Two Cheese Deluxe (1 Cheese Deluxe). They’re available as one-third pound double burgers or one-half pound triple burgers — hence the Stackburger name.

The burgers will be a permanent addition to menus at the company’s DQ Grill & Chill locations, which account for 72% of Dairy Queen’s more than 3,300 U.S. restaurants. Canada is the next market for the Stackburger product line.

Dairy Queen is not the only chain that has expanded its menu to appeal to more customers. Panera Bread is a well-known brand. pushing for more dinner ordersYou can add items like flatbread pizzas on the menu Dine Brands’IHOP was a big name in the burger industry when it changed its name briefly to IHOB several years back.

Warren Buffett’sHolding company Berkshire HathawayDairy Queen has been owned by Buffett for 25 years. Buffett reported that the fast-food chain had a net profit of $84.3 million for 2021. It is only a small part of Buffett’s vast empire which saw net income attributable shareholders of $89.8 trillion last year. Franchise disclosure documents show that Dairy Queen’s revenue increased 18% last year to $224.7 Million.

Official launch of International Dairy Queen on Tuesday was a long-awaited event. Troy Bader, International Dairy Queen’s CEO, stated in an interview that it was nearly five years since the chain began to look at its menu seriously. This is around the same time that he assumed the helm of the company. Bader said that the company was aware it could not be everything for everyone and tried to find out what customers desired.

Dairy Queen is now focusing on two food items: chicken strips, and burgers. Before it moved on to burgers, the chain began revamping its chicken strips offerings.

Bader stated, “I would claim it’s among the first true menu strategy that we have had within the Dairy Queen System in a very very long time.”

Its food sales dominated in markets like the Southeast. They also topped its sweet treats offering. Customers who bought lunch and dinner at the restaurant tended to buy an ice cream cone or Blizzard.

It took many years to improve its burgers, and it finally started in 2019! Dairy Queen developed a bun that could withstand three hamburger patties. The company switched out the cheeses it offered for American cheese and white cheddar.

Bader stated, “We are proud of our hamburgers but knew we could do better.”

The chain tested the Stackburgers. Dairy Queen, a chain of dairy restaurants, tested new menu items for almost ten months in Birmingham, Alabama, Sioux Falls (South Dakota), and South Bend, Indiana. Also included was testing were restaurants from Alberta and Ontario. Nearly 100 restaurants participated in the test, which was the biggest ever conducted by the chain for more than 20 years.

Some delays were also caused by the pandemic. Dairy Queen decided to delay the launch of its brand, originally scheduled for fall 2021, due to a nationwide labor shortage. Bader explained that Dairy Queen wanted to ensure it had sufficient employees so its franchisees were not left behind.

The chain didn’t care if customers stayed home. Bader claimed that Dairy Queen sales declined significantly over six weeks during the spring 2020 due to panic about driving through drive-thru lanes. Its business rebounded rapidly after the pandemic, which lasted for a month.

He stated, “From the period forward we have had nothing but records sales.”

The chain saw a 17% increase in U.S. sales for the same store during the period 2020-2021, compared to 2019.

Bader feels confident the burgers would drive sales. Dairy Queen Soft-launched Stackburgers February 7th and has already seen double-digit growth in sales without advertising.

Fast-food rivals such as McDonald’sDairy Queen will be testing and adding plant-based hamburgers to their menu.

Bader stated that there is so much to be excited about with our Stackburgers. Bader also said that because of the labor situation for our franchisees we weren’t able to offer too many items. We are continuing to monitor plant-based proteins to determine if they can be used within Dairy Queen’s system.

Berkshire Hathaway plans to host an annual shareholders meeting in-person on April 30, which will be the company’s first since the pandemic. Bader stated that Dairy Queen would forgo Blizzards in favor of highlighting prepackaged products, like its nondairy Dilly Bars, to ensure investors safety and comfort.