BurgerFuel is a New Zealand
burger restaurant and
franchise
Franchise may refer to:
Business and law
* Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees
* Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...
with 72 locations in three countries (plus 1 mobile location unit), including 60 locations in New Zealand.
Menu
The menu of Burgerfuel consists of typical fast-food fare such as hamburgers, beef and chicken dishes, and fries, as well as vegetarian and vegan dishes. The meal's names usually have humorous titles, such as the Bastard, Bacon Backfire, and the Chook Royale.
History
In 1995, the first BurgerFuel opened in
Ponsonby,
Auckland by Chris Mason. In 2007, BurgerFuel Worldwide
publicly
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
floated on the
NZX
New Zealand's Exchange (), known commonly as the NZX, is the national stock exchange for New Zealand and a publicly owned company. NZX is the parent company of Smartshares, and Wealth Technologies.
On 30 August 2020, the NZX had a total of ...
. The company directors were hoping to generate $15 million from the IPO; however, they ultimately raised slightly over a third of that. By 2015, the company had over 70 stores.
In January 2020,
te reo Māori advocates were worried that BurgerFuel's newly-launched 'Hoki Dokey'
fishburger could strengthen the incorrect pronunciation of the word
hoki (correctly pronounced as ).
Expansion
On 5 May 2008, BurgerFuel Worldwide announced it had agreed to its first master franchise agreement with
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
-based Al Khayyat Investment Group Investments LLC. They set up, and operated stores in Dubai,
UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
by the end of the year. There are two BurgerFuel stores in
Al-Khobar, and 3 branches in
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
, Saudi Arabia.
BurgerFuel won the "Franchise Export" of the Year award at the Westpac New Zealand Franchise Awards 2012.
The judges praised BurgerFuel for not just selling high quality, gourmet products, but also for developing the company into a specialist exporter which sources raw materials from New Zealand wherever possible..
On 14 Jan 2014, BurgerFuel Worldwide announced a $5.9m injection from new US investor - Milford, Connecticut-based Franchise Brands (backed by
Subway founders
Fred DeLuca
Frederick Adrian DeLuca (October 3, 1947 – September 14, 2015) was an American businessman, who was the co-founder and president of the Subway franchise of fast food restaurants with Peter Buck. During his tenure, Subway grew into the largest f ...
and
Peter Buck
Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his car ...
) to fund global expansion. The purchase was for 10% of the company with the option to raise this to 50% over 8 years. They planned to assist with BurgerFuel expansion particularly into the United States market. BurgerFuel Worldwide shares immediately leapt 80% as a result to an all-time high of $2.70 per share. They have since reached a high of $3.15 per share valuing the company at over $170m. Subsequently, it has risen to be worth over $200m placing it as the most valuable company on the NZAX market.
On 4 November 2014, BurgerFuel Worldwide passed NZ$200m (US$156m)
market capitalization
Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders.
Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by t ...
on the
New Zealand Exchange
New Zealand's Exchange (), known commonly as the NZX, is the national stock exchange for New Zealand and a publicly owned company. NZX is the parent company of Smartshares, and Wealth Technologies.
On 30 August 2020, the NZX had a total of 1 ...
for the first time and closed at NZ$226m (US$176m) which is a new record for BurgerFuel Worldwide.
On 4 June 2015, BurgerFuel Worldwide announced a partnership with California-based franchisor OhCal Foods as part of its plan to break into the US market. Following the death of Subway founder
Fred DeLuca
Frederick Adrian DeLuca (October 3, 1947 – September 14, 2015) was an American businessman, who was the co-founder and president of the Subway franchise of fast food restaurants with Peter Buck. During his tenure, Subway grew into the largest f ...
, BurgerFuel Worldwide decided to enter the US market alone.
On 29 May 2017, BurgerFuel opened their first United States restaurant in Indianapolis.
In October 2020 the store in Indianapolis closed ending their expansion into the USA.
It was announced in March 2022 that due to the
Omicron
Omicron (; uppercase Ο, lowercase ο, ell, όμικρον) is the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet. This letter is derived from the Phoenician letter ayin: . In classical Greek, omicron represented the close-mid back rounded vowel in contras ...
variant of
Covid-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
all UAE stores except one in Dubai would close.
Locations
![BurgerFuel restaurant in Auckland](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/BurgerFuel_restaurant_in_Auckland.jpg)
BurgerFuel is made in New Zealand.
BurgerFuel operates in three countries:
* New Zealand 60 (
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
24,
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
9, rest of
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
18,
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
6, rest of
South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
3, plus 1 mobile location)
*
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
11 (
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
4,
Eastern Province 6)
*
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
1 (
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
1)
It is also looking to expand into
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
,
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
, and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and include
drive thru
A drive-through or drive-thru (a sensational spelling of the word ''through''), is a type of take-out service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products without leaving their cars. The format was pioneered in the United ...
s. Expansion began in the
South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
of New Zealand with the opening of a franchise in Christchurch. With the investment by US based Franchise Brands they were looking to enter into the US market with plans to open up to 1000 restaurants there. On 20 October 2014, BurgerFuel announced that they would be adding 5 more Australian stores by 31 March 2015 in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
and
Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
. By the end of 2018 no stores remained open in Australia.
On 24 October 2014, BurgerFuel closed its
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
operations due to the growing threat of
ISIS
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
. It reopened a store in Baghdad in 2016, but closed the stores on 8 January 2020 after Iran attacked two airbases in the country.
On 21 October 2022, the 60th New Zealand location opened in
Rolleston Rolleston may refer to:
Places
* Rolleston, Queensland, Australia
* Rolleston, Leicestershire, England
* Rolleston, Nottinghamshire, England
** Rolleston railway station
* Rolleston on Dove, Staffordshire, England
** Rolleston Hall
* Rolleston, ...
as part of the first stage of the Rolleston Fields development.
Related brands
Burger Fuel Group owns Winner Winner and Shake Out, other restaurant chains in New Zealand.
See also
*
List of hamburger restaurants
This is a list of notable hamburger restaurants. A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of one or more cooked patties of ground meat (usually beef) usually placed inside a sliced hamburger bun. Hamburgers are often served with lettuce, bacon, tom ...
References
External links
*
{{Retailers in New Zealand
Hamburger restaurants
Fast-food franchises
Food and drink companies based in Auckland
Fast-food chains of New Zealand