Fast-food customers, hungry for deals, may need nothing short of a $1 double cheeseburger to fulfill their craving for value.

At least that's the belief of Burger King Holdings Corp. (BKC), which hopes its double cheeseburger, whose price will drop to $1 next month, can fill a competitive void on its menu as well as satisfy the stomachs and wallets of its key demographic.

Consumers "want to feel like they actually get their money's worth," Mike Kappitt, Burger King's senior vice president of global business intelligence and strategy, said in an interview Wednesday. "I don't think anything less than a double burger for $1 satisfies that need."

A $1 double cheeseburger represents a dramatic price cut for Burger King, which currently sells the sandwich for $1.89 to $2.39, depending on the market. But lower commodity prices, which are down in the "high single digits" compared to last year, make it easier to slice the price.

Burger King's double cheeseburger will sell for $1 across the U.S. starting Oct. 19, a deal set to run for at least six months. The company is playing up the fact that its sandwich has more beef than similar burgers from McDonald's Corp. (MCD) and Wendy's, of Wendy's/Arby's Inc. (WEN). Burger King's sandwich also has two slices of cheese, compared to one on McDonald's $1 McDouble.

Kappitt said the company still makes a slight profit on the product at $1, but the key is getting customers to buy high-margin items like fries and drinks as a complement. That can be difficult as consumers watch every penny, but on average, Kappitt said, customers are adding on to their purchases. "We sell a significant amount of ancillaries to the customers that buy the double cheeseburger," he said.

Burger King, whose same-store sales fell 2.4% in its latest quarter, is trying to work itself out of a hole, brought on partly by marketing missteps as well as a tough macroeconomic environment. Shares are down 26% in 2009, although they closed Wednesday's session up 52 cents, or 3.1%, at $17.59.

Earlier this year, the chain admittedly was too late to start pushing value-priced items when consumers demanded it, then leaned heavily by pushing its $1 Whopper Jr. sandwich.

The Whopper Jr. is still a popular value item, but Kappitt said it wasn't enough in the current environment. Burger King tried to introduce the $1 double cheeseburger to its menu this summer, but franchisees shot down the idea twice. Instead, the chain offered the deal in coupons, while about 50 markets tested the offer on the menu.

-By Paul Ziobro, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2194; paul.ziobro@dowjones.com