Betty’s Burgers enjoys flip side of bad economy

The chief of Betty’s Burgers’ parent company believes the premium burger chain will outcompete pricier rivals such as Grill’d as it seeks to open 20 to 25 new stores a year in Australia, despite a weakening economy, and kickstart environmental initiatives under new private equity owners.

Nishad Alani, the boss of Retail Zoo, which operates food chains Betty’s Burgers, Boost Juice, Cibo Espresso and Salsas, said consumers sought “affordable indulgence” in times of uncertainty.

Betty’s Burgers at ICC Darling Harbour, Sydney.Credit: Peter Rae

“You go to some of the fast-food players – they’ve kind of given up on the whole eating experience, they’ve completely gone takeout, delivery and drive-thru, that’s all they want to do. But that’s not what the core consumer wants to do,” Alani said.

Australia is approaching a spending cliff as festivities of the Christmas and New Year period wear off. With the cost of living hitting 20-year highs, Australians are expected to spend less on luxuries and non-essential goods.

Despite this, Alani said people would remain hungry for establishments more upscale than fast food and believes Betty’s Burgers is poised to do better than other premium burger chain competitors such as Grill’d. Grill’d’s cheapest burger is $12.50, 60¢ more expensive than Betty’s at $11.90, a small sum that Alani said would make a difference to discerning diners.

“We think we provide a better service, a better guest experience, better value, and again, this is up for debate – a better product,” said the Retail Zoo boss, who has taken a swipe at competitors before.

Betty’s Burgers was founded in 2014 in Queensland’s Noosa and has grown to 54 stores. It was one of the few beneficiaries of the pandemic lockdowns, increasing sales through high takeaway volumes.

This month, Sydney-based private equity firm Adamantem Capital signed the papers to acquire a 70 per cent stake in Retail Zoo, making it the company’s third private equity owner in a decade. Retail Zoo has been owned by Boston-based Bain Capital, which also owns Virgin Australia, for nearly a decade after buying it from The Riverside Company in 2014. Adamantem has valued the business at $350 million.

Retail Zoo will focus on aggressive store rollouts around the world and sustainability initiatives such as packaging and waste reduction.

“We plan to open 40 to 50 stores every year as we have for the last couple of years, and we expect half of those will be in the domestic market and half of them will be in the international market,” said Alani.

Adamantem Capital managing director Georgina Varley said it would otherwise be “business as usual” for Betty’s Burgers and Boost Juice staff and customers and expressed confidence the brands would perform well in tighter economic conditions.

“They’ve gone from eight stores to 54 stores over the past five years, and we’re keen to continue the store rollout, particularly as the brand grows,” Varley said about Betty’s Burgers.

“What we’ve seen is that Boost is a very resilient brand. It’s been around for 20 years and has weathered lots of different changes over time, and it’s continued to grow through COVID, it rebounded very well.”

“Similarly, Betty’s is a fast, casual brand which is well-positioned to be resilient through potentially tougher economic times.”

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