The “Keep it Real Meals” are to celebrate the removal of artificial ingredients from Burger King food.

Fast food chain Burger King announced today that they would formally banning the use of 120 artificial ingredients from its kitchens. This includes, but is not limited to, ketchup, pickles, buns, and more. All of this is an effort toward “real food,” though Burger King corporate assures that the taste of their food will not be compromised.

“We put every single food item that had a change associated with it through some exhaustive consumer testing so that we could ensure that not only the ingredient matches or is better than its prior taste,” Burger King’s Chief Marketing Officer Ellie Doty told CNN.

In a move that's both the next evolution of the Moldy Whopper's message and has a bit in common with McDonald's celebrity meals, Burger King is introducing three Keep It Real meals, crafted by celebrities Nelly, Anitta and Lil Huddy.
https://t.co/7pk39HoGxs

— Adweek (@Adweek) September 9, 2021

To celebrate this initiative, Burger King has decided to less-than-subtly crib an idea from McDonald’s with the “Keep it Real” meals. Starting Sunday, Burger King will begin offering special meals created in collaboration with several celebrities, including rapper Nelly, Brazilian singer Anitta, and rapper Lil Huddy. In the same vein as McDonalds’ celebrity-sponsored meals, the Keep it Real meals only use items that are already present on Burger King menus, albeit served in special themed containers.

I guess imitation is flattery… https://t.co/xaDcxWdzWH

— Tass Tsitsopoulos (@tassthegreek) September 9, 2021

Burger King corporate is hoping that both of these initiatives will generate some extra profit for the chain, which, while profitable last quarter, didn’t quite meet expectations. “We’re not performing at the level that we expect from ourselves or aspire to,” CEO Jose Cil said in an analyst call. “We understand our biggest areas for breakthrough opportunity. So, our underlying issue has really been focused and pace.”