TORONTO – Restaurant Brands International Inc. expects new sandwiches to invigorate breakfast sales at its Burger King and Tim Hortons restaurants.

Burger King in March launched a French toast sandwich. The chain plans to introduce product quality upgrades later in the year, said Jose E. Cil, chief executive officer of Restaurant Brands International, in an April 30 earnings call to discuss first-quarter results.

“The Burger King US team now has this breakfast opportunity square in their sights and are working closely with a group of talented franchisees to build a long-term plan with quality food and beverage offerings at its core and with the ambition to make Burger King the preferred breakfast destination in our space,” he said. “There’s still so much more we can do on top of the existing breakfast business in terms of menu expansion, food and beverage innovation, product quality, everyday value, and awareness.”

Tim Hortons launched breakfast sandwiches with freshly cracked eggs.

“The launch of our freshly cracked egg in the quarter is our single biggest change in our morning daypart menu in years and has been warmly and enthusiastically embraced by Canadians,” Cil said. “We launched the fresh egg in early February, and by the end of February, our breakfast food category delivered positive year-over-year and two-year comparable sales growth.”

Comparable store sales slipped 2.3% at Tim Hortons in the first quarter ended March 31. The chain has received a C$80 million ($65 million) corporate investment in Canada for 2021 to increase advertising expenses, highlight menu improvements and enhance the digital guest experience.

Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International reported net income attributable to common shareholders of $179 million, or 59¢ per share on the common stock, in the quarter, which was up 24% from $144 million, or 48¢ per share, in the previous year’s first quarter. Total revenues of $1.26 billion were up 2.9% from $1.23 billion.