The Japanese $10 Burger
Tuesday, March 15th, 2005The following is a translation of an article from the Asahi News
MOS Food Services, Inc., operator of “MOS Burger†chain of fast-food restaurants, will start selling the premium burger “Japanese Burger Takumi Jūdan†from the 16th. Among fast-food hamburger chains this will be the most expensive hamburger in history at 1000 yen ($9.58 US as of March 15th, 2005), including tax. The burger will be a trump card in putting the brakes on the deflationary trend in the price of eating-out. “It’s a daring price, but it has plenty of value,†the developer publicized.
This is the fourth round in the “Takumi†series of burgers, which started selling from August, 2003. The bun is made by an expert craftsman, with Australian beef, tomato, lettuce, bacon, egg, and more. Ten ingredients are piled on to make a 10 centimeter thick bacon and egg hamburger. Making it will take more than 10 minutes from when it is ordered. The meaning “The Best Grade†was also included to create the name “Jūdan,†literally “10th grade.†This new product will be limited to only the approximately 300 recently remodeled “Green MOS†restaurants, and sales will be limited to 10 burgers a day.
A Japanese-style demiglace sauce made from ingredients such as Kinzanji miso is included separately, and you can even eat with a knife and fork. A card with the name of the egg farmer and chef also accompanies the meal.
From the middle of the 1990s a trend of falling prices had continued in the restaurant industry. McDonald’s Japan, the largest hamburger seller in Japan, briefly sold a 59 yen (57 cents US) hamburger which was called “a symbol of deflation.†Reflecting on the pressure to profit in a price competition that had gone to far, MOS has aimed to leave fast-food, and is continuing to remodel existing stores into stores with a premium feel. Remodeled stores have changed the past red sign into green, and have been distinguished by calling them “Green MOS.†Already one fourth of nation-wide stores have been changed.