Franchise watch: The world’s first climate positive burger franchise

In 1968, Curt Bergfors and Britta Fredriksson, the founders of MAX Burgers, opened their first restaurant in Gällivare, high up in the north of Sweden, above the arctic circle. They found success almost immediately, and within just two years, more MAX restaurants were starting to open.

Today, MAX Burgers is associated with quality, premium customer service, and industry-defining sustainability. For 18 years in a row, the brand has been voted the most popular burger chain in Sweden. Why? Quality – something the brand strives for in everything it does.

• Taste: MAX Burgers never compromises on taste. The best ingredients are chosen and cooked with passion – this is the only way to produce the best burgers. All products are made-to-order and are all exquisitely flavorful.

• Operations: MAX Burgers is the most profitable business in Sweden. This is due to an effective staffing system, control of waste, self-service kiosks and other innovative solutions.

• Innovation: The brand has been ranked top in the world for innovation in business. MAX Burgers is at the forefront of the latest trends and is always aiming to be even better. MAX takes pride in offering top-of-the-range technology and equipment, and is famous for its cutting-edge product devel P/p>

MAX Burgers has worked with sustainable development since the start. In 2008, the brand began to carbon offset the climate impact from its entire value chain and to climate label its menu. This allowed consumers to know the impact their food was having, and adapt accordingly.

“It might sound crazy, but we believe that mouth-watering fast food can help tackle climate change,” says Richard and Christoffer Bergfors, president and vice president of MAX. “We plant trees (a lot of them). As they grow, these trees extract more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than our products release in total. Our burgers are climate positive because we offset more carbon dioxide than we emit, making our net impact positive. The short version? When you eat a burger from MAX, you’re actually helping the climate.”

To date, MAX Burgers has planted two million trees and has been climate positive since 2018. For this unique achievement, the brand was awarded the U.N. Global Climate Action Award 2019, but the journey doesn’t stop there; by 2022, MAX aims to have every second meal sold consist of non-red meat.

To join the MAX Burgers family, franchisees must have an understanding and appreciation of the brand’s goals and commitments; both to the environment, and unparalleled customer service. They must also possess both the financial assets and business acumen to open three or more MAX restaurants. “We are the oldest and most loved burger chain in Sweden,” says the Bergfors, “so while our climate impact matters, we believe the biggest contribution we can make is to inspire others to follow our lead.”

Number of locations: 20

Locations: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Poland, and Egypt. A total of 155 restaurants

Investment range: €750,000 – €2m

Minimum required capital: €400,000

Contact: johan.stahl@MAX.se