As the third annual PEI Burger Love ended on April 30th, it is clear that Prince Edward Island has firmly established itself as the Burger Capital of Canada.
PEI Burger Love is a month-long celebration of 100% Island Beef. Owned and marketed by Fresh Media, the culinary campaign is presented in partnership with PEI Cattle Producers, PEI Department of Agriculture and Forestry, and PEI Flavours.
The burger competition increased from 22 restaurants in 2012 to 31 locations this year. Each restaurant showcased Island Beef through custom gourmet hamburgers, which hungry Islanders were encouraged to eat and then vote online for PEI’s Most Loved Burger.
“We knew the campaign would be up from last year when we heard reports of people selling out of their burgers the first weekend,” said Rinnie Bradley, Executive Director of the PEI Cattle Producers. “But the final numbers have smashed everyone’s expectations.”
In 2012, the campaign sold 16,150 burgers. This year, the campaign sold an astonishing 46,204 burgers in just 29 days. That’s equivalent to 1,593 burgers a day, or approximately one burger sold for every three Islanders.
“We had a plan to grow the campaign this year, and we worked very hard to achieve these numbers,” said Melody Dover, President of Fresh Media. “We are thrilled to have our idea create such a positive economic impact for so many people on PEI.”
Sales for just the burgers equalled a staggering $580,008.62. If you were to add in the additional sales for sides, beverages and tips, it is estimated that the campaign generated well over $810,000.00 in just one month.
For the Most Loved Burger, the winner was decided by the restaurant which had the best average rating from online voting. With 10,240 votes cast, the winner of PEI’s Most Loved Burger was the Smokin’ Fox from Phinley’s Diner in Stratford. This burger featured two 5 oz Island Beef patties, Mayo, homemade Onion chips, homemade Sweet & Smoky BBQ Sauce, Sweet & Spice Jalapeno infused Bacon, 2-year-old Smoked Applewood Cheddar, Tomato, and Leaf Lettuce on a Poppy Seed Roll, garnished with Baby Gherkin Pickles, Thai Chili and a Cherry Tomato.
The difference between first and second place was just 0.11 points, which shows not only how tight the competition was, but also the quality of the burgers created.
“PEI Burger Love has given us a true understanding of what buying local means to our economy,” said Minister of Agriculture and Forestry George Webster. “The campaign generated significant economic activity for restaurants and meat markets, and it provided employment for Islanders. Our department was pleased to invest in this very successful joint initiative.”
The success of the campaign was tip-to-tip, with several rural restaurants selling more burgers than those located within the more populated centres. With many restaurants hiring more staff to keep up with demand, and some meat markets seeing orders up ten times from what they would usually receive from restaurants per week, PEI Burger Love has firmly established itself as the culinary campaign in Prince Edward Island.
“We have a few new restaurants wanting to be a part of the fun next year, plus we have other ideas to expand the campaign,” added Dover. “There is a definite appetite to support our hardworking PEI farmers, and we thank every single person who came out to show their love of local this month through all these tasty burgers.”