CHIPPING AWAY

Since ’95, when we opened the first BurgerFuel store on Ponsonby Road, Auckland, we knew that there would be many more stores to come. So BurgerFuel established the Enviro-mental programme, to ensure we kept the planet in mind as we grew.

We've been pioneers in developing packaging that takes the environment into consideration, our stores used to send away their old chippy oil so it could be converted into Bio Diesel, and since ages ago, we’ve been collecting our billboard skins and repurposing them into useful items, like beanbags, duffle bags, and staff anniversary gifts.

Over the more recent years, we've worked to reduce the number of packaging items needed for customers that dine in or takeout (no-one needs bags, within bags, within bags) and with most of our customers choosing to take their feed away, we know it's our responsibility to ensure our packaging does as little harm to the environment as possible at the end of its life.

We have some big projects in the works to ensure the end of life of our in-store packaging is safe, circular, and considered. We know we have a long way to go, and ongoing improvements to make, but we are committed to finding ways to lessen our impact on the environment.

We believe in authenticity and transparency, so watch this space for exciting developments as we continue on our sustainability journey….

#Chippingaway

CONSIDERED PACKAGING

OUR ZIPPYBOX®

Designed with the ultimate burger eating experience in mind, we designed a burger box that keeps your burger hot, looking like it does on the advertising and has a built-in burger-holding doofer to catch all those juicy juices.

Made from sustainable resources, with PEFC (Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification), the ZippyBox is accepted at select commercial composting facilities and communal composting hubs and can also be home composted.

To compost at home, simply rip up the ZippyBox into small pieces, no larger than your little finger. Speed up the decomposition process by soaking the cardboard in water with a bit of natural liquid detergent.

The introduction of this guy has meant that our old faithful doofers are now only needed for assisting you when you dine in. That’s a reduction of around three million doofers produced each year.

OUR CHIP CUPS TO OUR DOOFERS

Our takeout bags and mini burger bags are made from sustainably and ethically sourced, unlined paper.

Our sides and chippy cartons are all made from paper board sourced from reputable mills with sustainable and ethical forestry practices.

Our shake cup lid is made from 100% paper pulp and our shake cup holders are also made from moulded recyclable paper board.

Our napkins are sourced from Innocent Packaging, who only use recycled or FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) materials and our clam shell box (that holds your LowCarb burger), is made from reclaimed and rapidly renewable sugarcane fibres.

OUR SHAKE CUPS TO OUR AIOLI PUNNETS

Our shake cup is PLA lined made from FSC certified materials and certified commercially compostable.

Our aioli punnets and lids are also made from PLA (Polylactic Acid or ‘Bioplastic’) and is accepted at select commercial composting facilities

Our skewers that hold your fave burger together when you dine in are made from bamboo, a renewable resource.

Find a commercial composting facility near you HERE and read on to learn about our plans for compost collections in store.

FOOD WASTE SOLUTIONS

Food waste isn't cool and shouldn't be going to landfill, where it produces powerful greenhouse gases as it breaks down, and also robs our soil of important nutrients.

If we have any leftover ingredients remaining from a special burger, side, or thickshake promotion, we work with organisations like Everybody Eats, Kiwi Harvest, City Missions and food banks, to make sure the food gets to people in need.

Keep an eye on our Feeding the Legends stories, found HERE, where we showcase (and say "thanks" - with burgers) amazing humans dedicated to getting unwanted food to those who need it the most.

Please contact us at info@burgerfuel.co.nz if you, or someone you know, should be featured in our Feeding the Legends programme, or if you are an organisation that would like to be added to our list for surplus food donations.

MENU DEVELOPMENT

Millsy, Mad Burger Scientest (aka Menu Development Manager) and Cuz, R&D extraordinaire, steer the direction of BurgerFuel’s menu evolution and product design. Food quality, sustainability, and provenance are of the highest priority and they work to establish partnerships with suppliers who have likeminded values.

With exciting ongoing long-term menu development plans underway, concepting and crafting limited-time-only special burgers, sides, and drinks, gives the team an opportunity to test and trial products that incorporate sustainable food trends, sourcing and production practices, as well as work with businesses leading the way on sustainability in the food industry.

These limited time offerings are not only designed to test for future ongoing menu feasibility, but to provoke thought and challenge perceptions with our customers, all within the familiarity of a burger.

Here are some examples of past special edition products that not only tasted great, but were designed to have a positive impact too…

WILD HEART

Consciously crafted and built with purpose, Wild Heart was created in partnership with conservationist crusaders Citizen Collective, WITHWILD, and the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation. 100% locally sourced and comprised of rescued and repurposed ingredients, Wild Heart is designed to challenge perceptions around food waste in New Zealand. The Wapiti deer is an introduced species that has a negative impact on the Fiordland ecosystem

Featuring a WITHWILD Wapiti venison patty (the Wapiti deer is an introduced species that has had a huge negative impact on the Fiordland ecosystem) sprinkled with four horseman black rub and layered with melted truffle mascarpone, fresh shredded wonky carrots from Pukekohe, mixed with crisp mesclun salad and drizzled with a rich, rescued Central Otago Cherry sauce and BurgerFuel Aioli, all coming together on a wholemeal artisan rescued bun (made using a nutritious spent grain produced from Citizen's circular craft beer brewing process).

Selling out of this special means that customers collectively rescued 4.3 tonnes of wild Fiordland Wapiti, previously left in situ, 102,000kgs of unwanted Citizen Central Otago cherries and 300kgs of broken Pukekohe carrots. A dollar from each burger sold has been donated to the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation to continue their important conservation work in the park, such as installing a trapping line of 55 stoat traps in the Nitz Valley.

Finalist in the 'Communicating for Impact Award' at the Sustainable Business Awards 2022 and 2023!

Head HERE to learn more.

BURGERFUEL x CITIZEN RESCUED CHERRY COLA

Award-winning sustainable business, Citizen Collective are on a mission to stop needless food waste and rescue foods to upcycle them into delicious new offerings.

In partnership with our mates at Citizen and perfectly paired with BurgerFuel’s Wild Heart burger, this Rescued Cherry Cola combines dark, rich, vibrant flavours with rescued (export quality, but aesthetically imperfect) Central Otago cherries and rum wash (the by-product botanicals from rum-making).

Every can of BurgerFuel & Citizen saves 29 perfectly good cherries from going to landfill.

#savethecherries

ELECTRIC Pūhā

100% locally sourced and plant powered, this culinary creation showcased hemp as a sustainable superfood. Going for the hemp trifecta, it was packed with three forms of hemp super fuel: seed, oil and powder.

100% vegan and 100% locally sourced, Electric Pūhā was a nutrient-rich line-up of our hemp and broc bites, native pūhā & cabbage kraut and hemp oil aioli, combined with fresh rocket, an ounce of relish and a healthy dollop of avocado, all stacked perfectly between a bespoke wholesome organic hemp sourdough bun.

Made in collaboration with local partners Plant Culture, Kaitahi Kitchen, Bread & Butter Bakery & Café and Living Goodness, Electric Pūhā wasn’t just for the hardcore herbivores, this nutritious beast was a burger for everyone.

HEMP & BROC BITES

These moreish morsels were the centrepiece in our limited-edition burger, Electric Pūhā, and put a spotlight on a sustainable superfood and one of the most nutritious seeds on the planet: hemp seed.

With a fuel injection of protein, iron, and fibre from chickpeas and broccoli, all made deliciously kick-ass with the natural goodness of hemp seed, oil, and powder, they boasted a nutritious hit with every bite. The Hemp & Broc bites were coated with breadcrumbs, hemp seeds and roasted pumpkin seeds for a golden crunch and perfectly balanced with our sweet, batch-brewed tomato relish.

KAITAHI SUPER GREEN

Every modern-day superhero/ine needs the best super fuel to power them through the day. So, our very first smoothie, Kaitahi Super Green, gave that energy hit and was greener than Kryptonite.

We blended velvety hemp milk, creamy coconut ice-cream and a Kaitahi superfood mix (drops packed full of banana, golden kiwifruit, and super greens which included spinach, native kawakawa and pūhā.

Kaitahi Super Green was a collaboration with start-up and award-winning iwi enterprise, Kaitahi Kitchen. Together with parent company, Kii Tahi Ltd, they run a social ecological entrepreneurship model, collaboratively sourcing and growing native plant foods and promoting native superfoods to create enterprising opportunities for individuals and families to participate in within their region. Kii Tahi Ltd eco-source native plants and provide ecological services to the land and waterways with riparian planting programmes. Learn more about them HERE.

BEYOND BELEAF

In 2019, we stepped into an exciting new frontier with Beyond Beleaf, BurgerFuel’s first plant-based beef burger.

Served as a mini-sized burger the Beyond Beleaf contained all the delicious ingredients you’d expect to find in a gourmet BurgerFuel cheeseburger, but it was 100% vegan, with a Beyond Burger patty, vegan provolone cheese, vegan aioli, salad, relish and all on our delicious mini artisan buns. It tasted so close to the real thing, you could be easily fooled.

The Beyond Burger Patty was created by one of the leading innovators in the alternative protein sector, Beyond Meat, and was the world's first plant-based burger that looked, cooked, and tasted like a fresh beef burger. Free from gluten, soy and GMOs, it was 100% vegan, high in iron and protein, and made from all-natural ingredients – the colouring came from beetroot!

The primary source of protein in the Beyond Burger patty comes from peas, and the protein content of the patty is a filling 20g per serving. Beyond claimed that production of the patty uses less of the earth’s resources (like water and land) and produces fewer greenhouse gases - ‘by shifting from animal to plant-based meat, we can positively affect growing global issues such as constraints on natural resources and animal welfare’.

For humanity and beyond, this was a burger for everyone.

ALTERNATIVE MUSCLE & CHOOK FREE

The rise in flexitarian and reducetarians in NZ prompted us to continue trialling plant-based meat (meatless meat) alternatives on the BurgerFuel menu. We were particularly interested in providing options for meat-eaters looking to reduce their intake and add more plant-based options to their diet, for ethical or environmental reasons.

Plast-based meat products are said to have less of an environmental impact than that of conventional meat farming, in terms of water and land usage, and carbon emissions.

Alternative Muscle and Chook Free were developed for both vegan and carnivorous customers and replicated the taste of existing menu items, the American Muscle and Mini Chook Royale.

We continue to keep our eye on consumer demand and new plant-based meat options.

WE'VE BIN WORKING ON SOMETHING

With a focus on diverting as much discarded food away from landfill as possible, BurgerFuel Ponsonby and BurgerFuel Takapuna have been trialling circular waste solutions in the dining room and kitchen, working with Supertrash and We Compost, part of Green Gorilla, Auckland’s largest non-landfill owning, full spectrum waste services provider.

Over the coming months, we will be working to convert as many stores as possible to compost and recycling bins, with clear signage to educate the customer on how best to dispose of any BurgerFuel packaging and food waste.

This is a work in progress, so keep an eye out here as we roll out bin conversions nationwide.

#Chippingaway