The ‘kid from Zambrero’ is building the McDonald’s of plant-based burgers

Behind the kitchen of Flave’s flagship Bondi store is full-time executive chef Scott Findlay, who met Stuart by chance through mutual contacts at boutique burger joint Milky Lane. At the time, Stuart was only looking for a contractor to build a menu, but learned Findlay had seven years of experience as a private chef for Sir Paul McCartney (who has been vegetarian since 1975), as well as cooking for other celebrities like Beyonce and Pink.

The menu designed by Findlay references “smashed patties”, “maple bacon” and “cheese”. But the meat-like patties are from Melbourne-based plant protein company Love BUDS; the ‘cheese’ is made from coconuts by award-winning Greek brand GreenVie; and the ‘bacon’ is by a vegetarian brand called Lamyong, but marinated in Findlay’s own maple glaze recipe. The menu features plant-based meatballs that were originally designed and perfected for McCartney.

“Scotty’s a freak,” Stuart jokes. “You can quote me on that.”

Flave’s board of directors includes former Starbucks executive Jessica Gleeson, who helped grow the American coffeehouse franchise from 50 locations to 17,500 in 17 years, as well as advertising industry veteran Aden Hepburn. Its board is chaired by ASX-listed horticulture giant Costa interim chief executive Harry Debney. The board of directors has invested $1 million of their own money into Flave, with the Cooks contributing around half of that.

To open 1000 Flave stores in 10 years, Stuart will lean on his existing contacts – potential franchisees – from his time at Zambrero. The pair have already signed an agreement with a franchise operator in India to build 52 stores in a country where a quarter of the 1.4 billion population are vegetarian.

“‘I remember you were the kid from Zambrero’,” Stuart’s contacts would say to him, according to Samantha. “‘This is a really interesting play, because this is the next megatrend.’”

The pair is also confident in the appeal of Flave to cultural or religious groups that do not eat beef or pork. Closer to home, they have attracted interest from operators in locations that have surprised them.

“We’re even getting franchise requests from outer western suburbs like Parramatta or Blacktown,” said Stuart. “We’ve got a friend who owns a Thai restaurant in Emerson Park, and 70 per cent of their revenue is vegetarian.”

In a high-interest rate environment that has become less friendly for those hunting for venture capital or private equity, the Cooks plan to grow Flave through a franchising model. The two existing Bondi stores are not yet profitable (they are “getting close to break even”, Stuart says). Flave has made over $1.3 million in sales since December 2021. Seven in 10 customers patrons are repeat customers.

The option to seek private equity isn’t off the table. “They know it’s a race to be in, which horse do they back?” Stuart says.

“We’ve attracted investors from high net worth [individuals] and family offices, but it’s still too early to take venture money. Once you get to 5 or 6 locations, that’s when they’ll typically tip in.”

“We’ve set it up so that our centralised kitchen can support 50 locations in Australia,” said Stuart. “We’ve set ourselves up ourselves to scale and get profitable quite quickly once we get those next few locations open.”

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.