Sean Carthew, the founder and managing director of Burger Urge, reveals what marks the gourmet business as different from the competition.
How long has the business been trading?
Burger Urge began trading in 2007, and has been franchising since 2012.
What does it cost to buy a franchise?
The minimum for a new venue is $600,000; the current maximum for a new venue is $1.2 million.
What are the core areas of your company’s business?
Burger Urge specialises in gourmet, high-quality burgers made with fresh, locally sourced ingredients. With a focus on bold flavours, sustainability, and a unique brand personality, the company delivers an elevated fast-casual dining experience while supporting franchise partners with strong marketing, operational systems, and innovative growth strategies.
Who is a typical customer?
Burger Urge attracts a socially conscious, flavour-driven crowd aged 25-55—professionals, students, and families who appreciate high-quality ingredients and a bold, unconventional brand experience.
While our metro locations remain strong, we’re rapidly expanding into regional areas, bringing our premium casual dining experience to new markets. Each of our restaurant-style venues is uniquely branded, and we’ve built a loyal fan base—some customers even travel across the country to experience different Burger Urge locations.
With an inclusive approach and an uncompromising focus on quality, our menu caters to a diverse audience, including health-conscious and plant-based consumers.
What makes your brand stand out from the competition?
Its rebellious brand personality, premium-quality ingredients, and uniquely themed restaurant venues—no two locations look the same. Our menu pushes boundaries with bold flavour combinations, locally sourced produce, and options that cater to diverse dietary preferences, including plant-based and health-conscious choices.
What truly sets us apart is our focus on long-term success over aggressive expansion. Our franchisees know that we’d rather have fewer locations with thriving owners than chase growth at the expense of their satisfaction and the brand’s integrity.
Why is this a good business for a franchisee to buy into?
Burger Urge is a leader in one of Australia’s biggest industries—food retail, a $23 billion market (40 per cent of which is burgers). With nearly two decades of success, we’ve built a brand that remains relevant, profitable, and in demand.
As a franchise business, we are one of the only burger brands to maintain relevance and a strong ride-or-die customer following for 18 years—a critical factor for potential franchisees. When investing in a franchise, long-term viability matters, and with Burger Urge, franchisees can have peace of mind knowing they’re joining a brand built for longevity. Our proven business model delivers strong results, with over half of franchisees owning multiple locations.
We’ve won multiple national awards, solidifying our reputation for quality, innovation, and brand strength. Franchisees benefit from comprehensive support, including site selection, training, marketing, and operational guidance, ensuring they have the tools to thrive.
We operate nationally with a sizable and experienced HQ team, and with corporate-owned venues in our portfolio, we don’t just sell the franchise dream—we actively run our own stores, giving us firsthand insight into what it takes to succeed with a Burger Urge.
Which element of franchisee support is the most well received and why?
The most well-received element of our franchisee support is our hands-on, success-driven approach. We genuinely care about our franchisees and go beyond the standard support model to ensure they’re profitable, happy, and growing.
From personalised coaching and benchmarking data that helps franchisees optimise performance and costs, to implementing efficiency-boosting software and running targeted local area marketing campaigns, we are constantly working to make their lives easier and their businesses stronger.
We also provide critical support in lease negotiations and are constantly looking to drive brand-wide efficiencies, ensuring franchisees secure the best possible terms.
How many hours a week does a franchisee typically work?
We require new franchisees to work 40 hours per week in their venue for at least the first 12 months.
What drives your growth strategy?
Our growth strategy is driven by quality over quantity—we are focused on opening one successful venue at a time. While our goal is to double the number of Burger Urge locations in the next five years, we are committed to sustainable expansion, ensuring every new venue is set up for long-term success.
We’ve spent years refining our systems, processes, brand positioning, HQ team, supply chain, marketing strategies, and regional growth plan, and we now have an exceptionally strong foundation.
This allows us to scale confidently without compromising on venue performance, franchisee success, or brand integrity.
Every new location is backed by extensive research, planning, and strategic site selection to maximise its potential. We don’t open stores for the sake of growth—we open them to thrive.
What are your expansion plans for the next five years?
We plan to double the number of Burger Urge venues in the next five years.
What is one exciting innovation or development?
We are actually launching a Franchisee Assurance Program shortly. We are so confident in the Burger Urge business model, new venues and franchisee on-boarding process that we are willing to guarantee certain outcomes for our franchisees. I’ll share more on this closer to it’s launch.