RIAN FARISA

As one among the pioneers who introduce healthy food and lifestyle in Jakarta, Burgreens has become a business that grows closer than ever with its patrons. One vital move to achieve that was its re-branding into Burgreens Express. So what’s the difference with the Burgreens we used to know? Let’s find out about it.

With a noble vision to begin with, Burgreens wants to share everyone its colorful approach of healthy living while also provides a degree of convenience and reachability for its customers. Burgreens is indeed a mission-driven restaurant business with an elaborated plant-based menu and collaborates with local farmers and women to produce healthy and sustainable food by also staying responsible with the supply chain.

In terms of food, the chef proprietor Max Mandias himself spoke with me personally a few years back. He wanted all of us to know that healthy food can also be made delicious. It was a grinding process of trial and error which culminates into Burgreens now having a solid lineup of inventive dishes. Among my personal favorite – the “Greenogiri Platter”, comprises of brown rice onigiri filled with spiced tempeh and accompanied with oyster mushroom skewer cooked with fruit-based teriyaki sauce and on the side is salad with wafu dressing.

Another signature dish from Burgreens is the “Mini Quarto” – four mini burgers with four different flavors. Or perhaps you might want to try Chef Max’s favorite – the “Tempeh Gomashio”. This one has the all the goodness of tempeh patties with cashew pesto and covered with homemade gomashio seasonings. It is served on a bed of organic mixed salad with mushrooms. The vegan hot dog is also an interesting choice. The sausage is made from chickpeas, tofu, and seitan (“wheat-meat”) and wrapped in whole wheat bun, homemade BBQ sauce, vegan mayo, mustard, and chopped pickles and onions.

With their restaurants originally located deep in residential areas, Burgreens realized that the vision to provide reachability for everyone might be compromised. It was then decided that Burgreens should be re-branded and start opening up outlets at shopping malls and business areas. They believe that the new concept can cater more demanding, fast-paced Jakartans who are always in the search for something good and healthy. But in terms of menu, Burgreens stays faithful with the old lineup and continuously creating something new and exciting.

Since October 2016, the flagship Burgreens Express outlet was opened in the vicinity of Dharmawangsa – a strategic decision to approach the upmarket and health-conscious crowd of South Jakarta. Furthermore, Burgreens is also creating events like clean-eating talkshows and cooking demos, educational activities at schools, and also the catering services.

Additionally, Burgreens was also participating in events such as the Namaste Festival and YogFest at Taman Menteng or the Paw Day at Taman Langsat which was organized by Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN). Burgreens was also co-creating Pasar Semesta – a festival celebrating health, local and natural products, diversity, and sustainability. The event lasted for two days at Burgreens Express Dharmawangsa and attracted more than 800 visitors.

Despite the fact that healthy food market is not that big yet to begin with, still Burgreens does not want to compromise quality. Burgreens co-owners Chef Max and wife Helga Angelina prefer to think that their biggest competition is to actually keeping up to their high standards. They remind each other in the management to not be easily satisfied, to always raise the standards, and constantly innovating – not only in terms of food, but also in all departments, and also to have an open-minded approach to critics and feedbacks.

Looking forward, Burgreens is also aiming Surabaya and Bali for their next expansion. They envision that business will grow to as far as Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand in the next five years from now.

The healthy food movement nowadays grows much faster than the time when they first opened the doors back in 2013. Burgreens has been successful in creating a notion that healthy eating can be fun, tasty, easy, and has a lot of variety. This will in turn make people more committed to living healthily – a kind of impact which certainly became the reason why Burgreens should grow bigger than ever before.

Original link:
http://www.passionmedia.co.id/b/burgreens-express—one-step-closer-to-live-healthily