Grill'd

Grill'd is an Australian-owned burger chain founded in 2004 in Hawthorn, Melbourne. The company promotes itself as a healthy burger brand that engages in socially conscious activities. It owns 172 locations spread across Australia, and an international location in Seminyak, Bali. Grill'd operates primarily as a company-owned business with some franchised locations.

History

Simon Crowe founded Grill'd in 2004. Crowe was inspired by the "engaging service ethic" he saw in Milwaukee, United States while working for the brewing company Foster's. In 2019, Grill'd opened its first international restaurant, in Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia.

Since 2010, all of the company's beef and lamb have been grass-fed and free range, and in 2016 their chicken became RSPCA approved. In November 2021, Grill'd began offering a plant-based option, the Impossible Burger.

In May 2023, Grill'd opened a halal-certified restaurant in Blacktown, New South Wales. The restaurant served meat sourced from halal-certified suppliers, removed bacon from products, and did not serve alcohol. As of May 2024, the Blacktown Grill'd is no longer halal. The company now provides halal meat (excluding bacon) to all franchises without restaurant-level certification.

In June 2023, Grill'd opened its first drive-through restaurant in Mount Ommaney, Queensland. In August 2024, a second drive-through restaurant was opened in Chadstone, Victoria.

Community involvement

In 2011, Grill'd created the Local Matters program, which supports local community groups through monthly donations. Local community groups such as charities, school groups, and sporting teams in each restaurant’s area apply to the store to take part, with three groups being selected monthly. Grill'd customers are given a bottle cap with each purchase, which is placed in a jar corresponding to each group. Whichever group receives the most caps at the end of the month receives $300, and the others receive $100.

They also participated in the Polished Man Campaign in 2016, which raises funds for programs aimed at ending violence against children. People who took part in the campaign by polishing a fingernail were able to receive free burgers from the chain during the event.

The restaurant in Seminyak, Bali, extended the company's Local Matters program internationally, supporting Seminyak's local community groups by sharing Rp2,500,000 with three local groups each month.

During the 2019–20 Australian bushfire disaster, Grill'd matched every ace Nick Kyrgios served in the 2020 Australian Open with a $200 donation to bushfire relief, totalling $20,000. In February 2020, Grill'd donated $2 for every burger a Relish Member bought, and another $2 for every new member signed up, raising a total of $236,302.

Products

Burgers

Since opening in 2004, Grill'd has been serving multiple types of burgers from specialty to sliders as well as also offering a selection of burgers based on a range of dietary requirements.

Healthy Fried Chicken

In 2020, Grill'd launched Healthy Fried Chicken with HFC Bites in a campaign targeted at fast food chain KFC, offering all KFC employees free HFC Bites when they visit a Grill'd store in their uniform. Following this release, in 2021, Grill'd expanded its fried chicken line with HFC Burgers and publicly released its ''"No Secrets"'' recipe for their Healthy Fried Chicken.

Meat alternatives

On April 15, 2019, Grill'd hosted the "24 Hour Meat Cheat", serving only meat-free options to launch the Beyond Meat Burgers into their menu such as the Vegan burger "Vegan Garden Goodness" or the Vegetarian "Beyond Simply Grill'd"''.'' In July 2021, Grill'd, which is in collaboration with the company Fable and British chef Heston Blumenthal, created three new plant-based burgers with patties from mushroom-based protein.

Marketing

In March 2017, Grill'd launched the "Bunny Burger" with a rabbit patty to celebrate Easter and sold a vegan version of the burger in 2018. The 2017 iteration caused controversy on Facebook.

In April 2021, Grill'd partnered with streaming service Binge to launch season 10 of The Walking Dead with a limited-edition burger available in each state of Australia. The campaign was shortlisted in the Mumbrella CommsCon Awards for Best Use of Owned Media.

In July 2023, Grill'd launched a burger with a pink bun alongside the release of the Barbie movie called the "Barbie Dreamburger."

In January 2024, Grill'd collaborated with former tennis player Ash Barty, Grill'd stated that they would donate $100 thousand to the Ash Barty Foundation to help young tennis players.

In February 2025, Grill'd launched a burger co-designed with Formula One driver Oscar Piastri.

Partnerships & sponsorships

Grill'd has partnered with the Melbourne Storm NRL club since 2020. In commemoration of the partnership, Grill'd created a "Storm Burger" in 2021. During the 2023 finals season, Grill'd released another iteration of the "Storm Burger" with a purple bun and a limited-time free offer at one of their Melbourne stores.

Grill'd has been a partner of the Melbourne Boomers since the 2020 season. Boomers General Manager, Christy Collier-Hill said "we're so excited to welcome Grill'd as a team sponsor for WNBL Season 2020 and we are looking forward to a very healthy, long-term partnership.”

In 2022, Grill'd announced a four-year sponsorship of the Australian Institute of Sport. The 2022 Winter Olympics gold-medalist Jakara Anthony was chosen to be a Grill'd ambassador for this sponsorship of the AIS.

In April 2024, Grill'd announced a partnership with Australian Commonwealth Games gold-medalist Harry Garside.

In January 2025, AFL team Melbourne Demons announced Grill'd as a new major partner.

Sustainability

In 2021, Grill'd partnered with not-for-profit environmental organisation Greenfleet as part of the company's Tree Day Tuesday initiative.

Grill'd was named one of Australia's top 10 brands in the 2021 Forces of Good Report, and the number one brand in the food category for Corporate Social Responsibility which analysed 190 brands.

Grill'd has reportedly recycled over 660,000 litres of cooking oil to create biodiesel and has converted 62 of its restaurants to green power.

Controversies

In June 2015, a franchise in Toowong selected Cherish Life to receive funds from the Local Matters program. Founder Simon Crowe apologised for the alleged mistake, stating that Grill'd is pro-choice.

Working conditions and pay

Grill'd has faced criticism for its labour practices and wage disputes, including allegations of underpaying staff and misusing government apprenticeship programs.

Underpayment

In July 2015, allegations arose that Kahlani Pyrah, a former employee of a franchise in Camberwell, had been removed from her position after beginning a wage case with the Fair Work Commission for being paid below minimum wage. Grill'd officially denied the allegations, claiming that her bullying of managers was the reason for the dismissal. Pyrah launched a Federal Court case in a bid to get her job back. An interim Federal Court ruling ordered Grill'd to reinstate her, allowing the wage case hearing to go ahead. At the hearing, the Fair Work Commission forced the Grill'd Camberwell franchise to raise employee pay to the minimum wage. Jess Walsh of the hospitality union United Voice said that the ruling was an "enormous win" for Pyrah and Grill'd employees. A planned dismissal hearing at the Federal Court was called off after Pyrah and Grill'd reached an out-of-court settlement.

"Hamburger University" and trainee programs

In 2019, it was discovered that Grill'd was underpaying employees by exploiting traineeship loopholes, siphoning millions in wages each year. The coverage also included allegations of serious food safety concerns at 1-in-10 company-owned Grill'd restaurants, franchises being mistreated by the company, and founder Simon Crowe falsifying signatures of his business partner on two liquor licenses.

In 2022, it was revealed that Grill'd used $16.6 million (granted by the Australian Government's COVID-19 apprenticeship program) to make 2,800 employees a part of their "hamburger university" traineeship program, which they had used to underpay workers. In October 2024, United Workers Union members and employees of a Grill'd location in Melbourne went on strike, claiming that Grill'd was forcing staff into their "hamburger university" traineeship program in order to pay decreased wages to trainees.

Locations

Australian Capital Territory

New South Wales

Northern Territory

Victoria

Queensland

South Australia

Western Australia

Tasmania

Overseas

References

External links

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{{Food chains in Australia

Companies based in Melbourne
Fast-food franchises
Fast-food chains of Australia
Fast-food hamburger restaurants
Restaurants established in 2004
2004 establishments in Australia