Burger King Reaches Out to Kids With New Crown Meals

MIAMI -- Burger King is out to prove that royalty trumps Happy Meals with the debut of its new BK Crown kids' meals, available immediately, according to USA Today.

The meals come in boxes that feature wearable cardboard crowns, interactive games and directions to a website where kids can choose a wildlife, environment or education charity to which Burger King will donate one penny from the proceeds of their meal. A breakfast meal that includes oatmeal, apple slices and milk or juice is also available.

The recently ousted King mascot character won't appear on the BK Crown meals. "The king is the child," said Alex Macedo, senior VP of marketing.

The move to boost sales of food meant for younger customers is one of several made by the fast food industry in recent months. Others include McDonald's experiments with Happy Meals that contain fewer fries and apple slices or other fruits and vegetables, and Jack in the Box's toy-free meals following San Francisco's ban against toys from kids' meals that include high levels of fat, sodium and sugar. Wendy's CEO Emil Brolick has also stated that the company plans to revamp its kids' meals within the next year, according to the report.