The big change coming to popular Grill’d burger chain

A big change is coming to Grill’d, with the beloved Australian burger chain vowing more than half its menu would cater for one specific set of dietary requirements by next year.

Grill’d co-founder Simon Crowe at their Richmond restaurant with one of the company's new burgers. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Grill’d boss Simon Crowe says the move to eat less meat is no fad — and his restaurant chain has pledged to have half of its burger menu plant-based by 2020.

Mr Crowe said the push to dramatically increase its vegetarian and vegan offer reflected rising public concern about the environmental impact of meat production and animal welfare, and an interest in healthier eating.

“It’s no longer just a fad, it’s a trend and our job is to build upon that trend and deliver on the healthy consumption pattern our brand is known for,” Mr Crowe told Business Daily.

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“Australia is one of the fastest-growing vegan markets in the world and there are already more than two million vegetarian consumers here. This plant-based eating movement is becoming more and more mainstream.

“Vegans and vegetarians are no longer social outcasts and pariahs.”

The vegan cheeseburger on Grill’d’s current menu.

Grill’d has partnered with Beyond Meats, a US food producer which makes plant-based meat substitutes and whose high-profile financial backers include actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

The push will shake up the Grill’d menu which currently contains 20 meat-based burgers and three plant-based ones.

Mr Crowe said the new range wasn’t about creating more vegetarians or vegans but rather to give diners new options and tap into a general movement to reduce meat consumption as evidence by the rise of campaigns such as meat-free Monday.

“The biggest increase we’ve seen is the number of carnivores and flexitarians switching to plant-based alternatives,” he said.

“Whether it’s for health reasons, animal rights or climate change, the demand for more plant-based options is very real.”

It might be real but Mr Crowe, who co-founded Grill’d in 2004, admitted he hadn’t quite been won over by it.

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“I’m more of a traditionalist but my wife insists we have a vegetarian meal from time to time,” he said. “But I’ve tasted the new range and they are delicious.”

The menu overhaul at Grill’d, to be rolled out next month, comes as it gets ready to embark on its first overseas expansion.

Grill’d will open a restaurant in Seminyak in Bali in September and is considering a push into either Singapore, London or Los Angeles.

No decision has been made, but Mr Crowe said he was “excited” by the opportunities in the United Kingdom.

“The idea of the UK sending its convicts here and us taking healthy burgers back has appeal,” he said.

Uncertainty around Brexit is also not scaring him off.

“Sometimes when there is a fire you either run away from it or you run to it,” he said.

“Our opportunity is to use Brexit. The fact that we don’t have a restaurant there means we can go into that market without the historical and legacy issues that other restaurants who operate there have.”

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