Max Hamburgers
Encyclopedia
Max Hamburgerrestauranger AB (Max Hamburger Restaurants Incorporated) is a fast food
corporation which was founded by Curt Bergfors in Gällivare
, Sweden
in 1968. Bergfors' oldest son Richard Bergfors is the current president since 2002.
Until the 1980s, Max was the largest hamburger restaurant chain in northern Sweden, with only a single restaurant outside of Norrland
(on Drottninggatan, Stockholm
). This changed during the 1990s, when they expanded to become a nationwide fast-food chain. By 2011, there are around 85 restaurants in Sweden, compared to 40 just five years earlier.
From 2005 to 2010, Max expanded extensively to the western parts of Sweden. Plans have been announced to expand to Riyadh
and Dubai
with Kuwait
following. The first restaurant in Norway opened on May 12, 2011.
image at the same time. Max has done advertising featuring children as well as adults with different ethnicity, dressed in traditional Swedish costumes (folkdräkt), and only music from Swedish artists are played in the restaurants, via the company's own radio channel.
Max does not only offer traditional hamburgers but also healthier alternatives like the Delifresh menus, which ranges from 4% to 12.5% fat, served like regular hamburgers in healthier bread with the usual accessories. It also sells its own brand of salad sauce, which is quite popular. Max also features low glycemic index
and gluten free menus.
Max offers free of charge WiFi
-access in most of their restaurants.
restaurants, which happened in 1991 in Umeå
and Luleå
, where McDonald's (who were later to arrive in northern Sweden
than in Sweden's major cities) in fact closed their restaurants before returning a few years later. In 2007, the popularity of Max forced the McDonald's in Skellefteå
, Piteå
and, again, in Luleå
out of business.
For nine consecutive years, Max has had the most satisfied customers among the nationwide fast food chains in Sweden, beating McDonalds and Burger King by large margins (Max Hamburgers 40%, McDonald's (17%), Burger King (20%), Others (19%)), in polls conducted by commercial agency ISI Wissing AB. This may be due to the fact that Max's made-to-order hamburgers are cooked as soon as they are ordered, even if it means that an order generally takes somewhat longer to be completed than what is typical for fast food restaurants.
Fast food
Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
corporation which was founded by Curt Bergfors in Gällivare
Gällivare
Gällivare is a locality and the seat of Gällivare Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 8,480 inhabitants in 2005. The town was founded in the 17th century...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in 1968. Bergfors' oldest son Richard Bergfors is the current president since 2002.
Until the 1980s, Max was the largest hamburger restaurant chain in northern Sweden, with only a single restaurant outside of Norrland
Norrland
Norrland is one of the three lands of Sweden , the northern part, consisting of nine provinces. The term Norrland is not used for any administrative purpose, but it is common in everyday language, e.g...
(on Drottninggatan, Stockholm
Drottninggatan, Stockholm
Drottninggatan is a major pedestrian street in Stockholm, Sweden. It stretches north from the bridge Riksbron at Norrström, in the district of Norrmalm, to Observatorielunden in the district of Vasastaden....
). This changed during the 1990s, when they expanded to become a nationwide fast-food chain. By 2011, there are around 85 restaurants in Sweden, compared to 40 just five years earlier.
From 2005 to 2010, Max expanded extensively to the western parts of Sweden. Plans have been announced to expand to Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...
and Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
with Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
following. The first restaurant in Norway opened on May 12, 2011.
Products
Max's relies on its Swedish heritage as a means of competing with the two major fast food-chains on the market, McDonalds and Burger King, but also embraces a multi-culturalMulticulturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
image at the same time. Max has done advertising featuring children as well as adults with different ethnicity, dressed in traditional Swedish costumes (folkdräkt), and only music from Swedish artists are played in the restaurants, via the company's own radio channel.
Max does not only offer traditional hamburgers but also healthier alternatives like the Delifresh menus, which ranges from 4% to 12.5% fat, served like regular hamburgers in healthier bread with the usual accessories. It also sells its own brand of salad sauce, which is quite popular. Max also features low glycemic index
GI
GI , Gi or gi may refer to:In science and measurement:* Galvanized iron, iron that has been electrochemically rustproofed with zinc* Gastrointestinal, a division of the human anatomy in medicine...
and gluten free menus.
Max offers free of charge WiFi
Hotspot (Wi-Fi)
A hotspot is a site that offers Internet access over a wireless local area network through the use of a router connected to a link to an Internet service provider...
-access in most of their restaurants.
Popularity
Max was the first hamburger restaurant ever to outcompete McDonald'sMcDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
restaurants, which happened in 1991 in Umeå
Umeå
- Transport :The road infrastructure in Umeå is well-developed, with two European highways passing through the city. About 4 km from the city centre is the Umeå City Airport...
and Luleå
Luleå
- Transportation :Local buses are run by .A passenger train service is available from Luleå Centralstation on Sweden's national SJ railway service northbound to Narvik on the Norwegian coast, or southbound to Stockholm. See Rail transport in Sweden....
, where McDonald's (who were later to arrive in northern Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
than in Sweden's major cities) in fact closed their restaurants before returning a few years later. In 2007, the popularity of Max forced the McDonald's in Skellefteå
Skellefteå
-Industry:*Boliden AB, a big mining and smelting company*Alimak*Natural User Interface Technologies AB - NUITEQ, a promising emerging technology start-up company-Sports:*Skellefteå AIK, an ice hockey team in the highest Swedish league, Elitserien....
, Piteå
Piteå
Piteå is a locality and the seat of Piteå Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. The town has 22,650 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 41,000 in 2008.- Geography :...
and, again, in Luleå
Luleå
- Transportation :Local buses are run by .A passenger train service is available from Luleå Centralstation on Sweden's national SJ railway service northbound to Narvik on the Norwegian coast, or southbound to Stockholm. See Rail transport in Sweden....
out of business.
For nine consecutive years, Max has had the most satisfied customers among the nationwide fast food chains in Sweden, beating McDonalds and Burger King by large margins (Max Hamburgers 40%, McDonald's (17%), Burger King (20%), Others (19%)), in polls conducted by commercial agency ISI Wissing AB. This may be due to the fact that Max's made-to-order hamburgers are cooked as soon as they are ordered, even if it means that an order generally takes somewhat longer to be completed than what is typical for fast food restaurants.