Burger King is phasing out the lower-calorie French fries it introduced onto menus less than a year ago, CNBC reported on Wednesday.
The chain said in a statement that it gave franchises in North America the option to continue selling the fries or do away with them earlier this week. Only 2,500 of the approximately 7,500 locations in the region decided to continue selling reduced calorie fries as a permanent item.
Dubbed "Satisfries," the menu option gained attention online when Burger King announced it in September 2013. The fries used a different type of batter to prevent some oil from being absorbed by the potatoes while they were frying, company said, according to CNBC.
They were marketed as containing 20 percent fewer calories and 25 percent less fat than Burger King's original fries. When compared to McDonald's fries, "Satisfries" allegedly contained 30 percent fewer calories and 40 percent less fat.
Burger King always wanted to let customers decide how long Satisfries would stay on the menu and the restaurants who are keeping them will treat the product as a limited-time item, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The failed fries rollout speaks to the sometimes indecisive nature of Americans and eating healthy. Food producers try to craft their products to health trends and have found that consumers don't react pleasantly when they know their favorite snacks have changed.
Commenters on Twitter also poked fun at the name of the fries. Zoe Stagg said "no one could bring themselves to say that name out loud."
Nick Turner compared "Satisfries" to Sprint's "framily plan."
Others expressed displeasure over the way they tasted. Dani S. said on Twitter: "Did they taste them first? UGH."
This isn't the first time Burger King has experienced a French fry flop. The restaurant altered its recipe in the late 1990's, but consumers didn't like the new version, according to the Wall Street Journal. The chain changed the formula in 2001 and again in 2011.
