American fast food chain Carl’s Jr. has plans to extend its footprint to Australia, with an ambitious 300 store strategy for the next 10 to 15 years.

Expansion into Australia would be pivotal in doubling the chain’s international presence to more than 1,000 restaurants in the next five years.

The burger chain, famous for its edgy advertising campaigns featuring celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Kate Upton, has already opened eight stores sales in New Zealand in the past 18 months.

Carl’s Jr. is the flagship chain of CKE Restaurants and Andy Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants, has visited Australia to meet with potential franchise partners.

Puzder said “Australia is a highly attractive market for Carl’s Jr. Our research shows that the strong economy here, combined with our positioning and premium food offering complement what we’ve seen in New Zealand.

“The quick service restaurant sector here is growing rapidly, presenting a great opportunity for us and the response from potential partners has been very positive.

“We also believe that there’s a real appetite for Carl’s Jr. amongst not only our target 18 to 34 year old male audience, or as we call them, ‘young hungry guys,’ but also everyone in Australia who aspires to be young. To satisfy this appetite we will offer our premium products, such as our wide variety of fresh, big and delicious charbroiled burgers that lead the industry in taste, quality and innovation.”

• CKE Restaurants has nearly 3,300 restaurants, across 27 countries through its franchisees and affiliated entities. Carl’s Jr was founded in 1941.