Find out more about Huxtaburger's brand refresh and expansion

QSR Media got in touch with Matt Fickling, Group General Manager of Huxtaburger, to discuss their recent brand refresh and where the brand aims to go in the future.

Huxtaburger announced its plans to transition from a single-destination restaurant model, to a multi-site food retail franchise, taking its signature burgers beyond Melbourne. Enlisting franchise consultants DC Strategy, the expansion will see Huxtaburger owning a total of 50 stores within the next five years, including a sustainable mix of both company-owned and franchised stores. To mark the milestone, Huxtaburger has developed a comprehensive new brand strategy and, in collaboration with graphic design studio Pop & Pac, will roll out a bold new look in stores.

QSR Media: What brought about the decision to refresh the brand?

It is all about marking Huxtaburger's coming of age. We have spent the last 18 months consolidating every area of our business. From people, operations, supply, innovation and brand we have reviewed every area to see where we perform well and where we need to road map improvement plans in areas that are of opportunity. As we scale and grow, the reality we are faced with is that we need to engage a wider audiences, be more recognisable and more accessible to a more diverse group of people across the entire country. The casual QSR and burger market is constantly becoming more crowded; our new brand strategy is now more than just owning taste, we are on an evolution towards having a voice, an opinion and something to say to the communities in which we operate. The refresh marks the start of communicating our new three brand pillars, values and identity and the brand and culture that have been key to Huxtaburger's success over the past half decade. Our new brand elements allow us to more clearly define ourselves and message through different mediums, formats and customer touch points to avoid being one dimensional and fading away amongst the pack.

QSR Media: How is the reaction so far?

The reaction has been phenomenal. Our team and Huxtamers lead aspirational and active lives and our fully customised packaging, designed by graphic design studio POP&PAC has started to express and message this new part of our brand strategy. The American identity part of the brand has been repositioned, with a focus on motivating customers to sink their teeth into life - as well as a juicy burger. The packaging references Huxtaburger's strong connection to urban culture, designed to exude a distinct 'street' feel. It includes images of skydivers, surfers, skateboarders dotted throughout the design, to the fresh palette of vibrant colours, Huxtaburger is becoming a way of life! This nod to our team members and our Huxtamers alike where they now can truly align with our brand and who we are.

QSR Media: Can you tell us more about your planned expansion?

There are so many amazing real estate opportunities being presented to us as we pipeline our expansion across the country. The initial focus will be penetrating Victoria with NSW and WA on the radar thereafter. We will have a responsible mix of both company owned and franchised stores within the network that will see us having a store network of over 50 stores within 5 years. We are looking forward to our franchise journey, we have set our standards very high when it comes to selecting the right people to join the Huxtatribe. Our franchise strategy is an extension of our HR strategy, we want to have access to talent in which we would not normally be able to obtain at store level in a company only operations environment. We have partnered with leading consultants, DC Strategy to assist with our selection, who are currently shortlisting and assessing hundreds of enquiries for opportunities across Australia.

QSR Media: What are the challenges that you are facing with regard to this?

Resourcing the business for growth is always a challenge. At the moment I lead an Executive Team of four across Marketing, Supply, Operations and Finance. While we are well resourced for our immediate network expansion plans, we have put in place a financial model to timeline the growth of our support office team based on store targets and revenue. We are committed to professionally developing our company team members, ensuring our brand constantly becomes more relevant, providing support to our franchise partners that is second to none. Attracting talent in our industry also represents challenges, especially when you are gearing up for growth when you are committed to pipelining talent. We are always on the lookout for talented Store Managers who want to progress into multisite and training roles. There are some real opportunities at Huxtaburger over the next year!

We are currently a small brand with some epic growth plans. The challenge around real estate and franchise recruitment is for us to stay disciplined. Our new brand strategy is the road map for both of these ongoing decisions. Successful brands are made of innovation and discipline, the discipline is key for us here. We have real estate offers weekly, and a list of hundreds of franchise applicants. The brand will not grow for growth's sake. We are committed to long term value creation at Huxtaburger.

QSR Media: What can you say will be the future of Huxtaburger five years from now?

Huxtaburger will grow to be a national player and a leading franchisor across Australia. We want to be the first choice as a place to work - where we develop our crew members to be the best food retailers in Australia. We want to be the first choice for franchisees - where we offer a business model with quick return on investment and unparalleled support. We want to be the first choice for customers - to own taste and to have a personality that truly aligns with the communities in which we operate.

QSR Media: Any other big plans?

We have some big goals and some big plans coming the market’s way! But we might leave some moves up our sleeve for now. Watch this space.