How URBAN went from hometown hero to national name

Meet the Yorkshire burger brand earning £1 million turnovers, while taking on the UK’s most established QSR players

In 2017, £175,000 husband and wife duo Mehmet and Zerin Kent launched URBAN Fresh Burgers & Fries in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Since then, they’ve grown the business to five sites across Yorkshire, with its first franchise location opening in 2024 – an achievement they put down to having a consistent commitment to quality products and service.

Now, having navigated the challenges that come with a new concept, the brand is determined to show that the demand for quality food and service will thrive under any circumstances and in any location.

Simple concept, multiple options

URBAN has intentionally made the decision to offer a smaller menu in comparison to other quick service restaurants in this space – choosing to focus on quality. For example, fries are hand-cut daily and everything is cooked fresh to order so it tastes great and limits waste.

Menu variety comes from its customisable concept which gives diners the flexibility to create their own bespoke burger – with almost a million different combinations available. As a result, URBAN has trialled dozens of patty recipes, marinades, burger buns, and salads to make sure this approach works to its optimum. Meanwhile, seasonal specials are also available to customers looking for something different.

So far, response has been positive with the brand noticing an increased footfall and consistently great reviews. This has led to thousands of customers signing up to the URBAN Rewards loyalty club, which means the brand can now leverage purchase data to deliver personalised marketing campaigns and spur additional sales.

Scaling up with franchisees

Seven years and five stores after launching, URBAN has decided now is the right time for national expansion using a franchise model.

“We were approached about franchising almost straight off the bat, but we chose to travel the journey ourselves and build solid foundations for any potential partners’ long-term success first,” says Mehmet. “Our ambition is to expand throughout the UK – we know that there is the potential for at least 150 URBAN outlets nationally.”

URBAN already has new locations in the pipeline and has been working to ensure its menu, operations, training, and supply chain are to a standard that enables franchisees to easily adopt the model and quickly begin tapping into the £18 billion QSR industry.

Currently, its systems and operations are set up for single and multi-site scale, with development agreements available for franchisees looking to develop a geographical territory.

*This is paid partner content.