Fast food chain operator Burger King is shelving its healthier French fry option Satisfries, after it flopped among American consumer despite an aggressive pushing marketing push, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The healthy alternative to its regular fries  was not a hit among consumers. Only 2,500 of Burger King's 7,500 North American restaurants decided to retain Satisfries, after the company asked its franchisees if it wanted to.

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"The remaining restaurants will treat the product as a limited time menu offering and have begun phasing it out after this unprecedented run," Burger King North America President Alex Macedo said in a statement published on the paper.

The fast food chain came up with Satisfries in September 2013 to offset the shrinking sales of its French fries, which Americans have been shunning on concerns that potatoes are not as healthy as previously believed.

The move was also meant to beef up Burger King's healthy food offerings to head off competition from other quick service restaurants that have spruced up their menus to appeal to the health-conscious.

Satisfries were designed to absorb less oil during frying and touted by Burger King as having 20% less calories and 25% less fat than its regular fries. Against McDonald's French fries, the Satisfries were said to contain 30% and 40% fewer calories and fat, respectively.

The Los Angeles Times, meanwhile, traced Satisfries' retreat to health-conscious consumers's dissatisfaction with low-fat, low calorie options, and preference for fresher food that have low sugar and sodium, citing a June study by the Institute of Food Technologists. Price could also be a factor since regular fries are cheaper than Satisfries, the report added.
The Wall Street Journal said this was not the first time Burger King flopped with its fries, with new recipes introduced in the late 1990s, 2001, and 2011 with varying success.

Tagsburger king, French fries