Vincent Winardo
Monash University
Gitanjali Bedi
Keep this story going! Share below!
Grill'd cares about their customers' health and protecting the environment. Their innovations include using paper straws instead of plastic straws as well as using grass-fed beef for their burger patties. Lastly, their innovation is to provide a wider range of healthier burger buns for their customers (Grill’d, 2019).
Grill’d's innovations in terms of their burgers, local community support, and paper straws align with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3, 11, and 12.
Grill’d offers the customer four different kind of burger buns, which are traditional, panini, gluten free, and low-carb superbun (Grill’d, 2019). This wide range of burger buns is simply a great innovation, especially for those customers who are allergic to gluten and health-conscious customers.
Grill’d uses grass-fed beef patties, which affects the flavor of the beef to be more natural and juicy. Glenn told me that grass-fed cows have a better and more supportive environment during the slaughtering process, which results in more tender meat (Ruechel, 2019). The other important factor that determines the tenderness of the meat is the farmer’s experience in finishing the beef properly (Grass-fed-solutions, et al., 2019). Grass-fed beef is healthier compared to the other kind of beef because it contains healthy fats. The healthy fats consist of Omega 3 and Omega 6, which give grass-fed beef the edge over other kind of beef in terms of nutrients. In contrast, cattle fed organic and grain-fed beef are more likely to be injected with added hormones (Nutritiouslife, 2017).
Another innovation that Grill’d implements in their business is using paper straws instead of plastic straws. The paper straws help to minimize the environmental impact (Grill’d, 2019). Using paper straws instead of plastic straws relates to SDG 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities.
The inspiration of Grill'd comes from the CEO's awareness of the importance of sustainability for a firm (Grill'd, 2019). The CEO believes that by creating a sustainable business, Grill'd may help improve the environment as well as provide for those health-concerned customers (Grill'd, 2019). Grill'd also can reach a wider range of customers by providing more options to certain customers who have allergies to some types of ingredients. By doing so, it is believed that Grill'd may also profit in the long term because of the improvement in its brand image.
Becoming a sustainable business can bring many positive impacts to the business in the long run. Glenn believed that Grill’d is thinking more of the long-term benefits from being a sustainable business in their respective industries. According to Glenn, “by being sustainable and a caring business for the environment, it can have positive impacts for the business in the long run and future generations to come.” Furthermore, Glenn added that “by being a sustainable business, it sets great examples and foundations for the kids and future generations to carry these huge responsibilities in protecting the environment and minimize pollution or such other things that would harm the environment.” The benefits can be in form of increasing regulatory compliance, minimizing waste, and maintaining and attracting employees and customers.
Glenn suggested that using paper straws will be more expensive than using plastic straws, but Grill’d is willing to pay the cost upfront if it means that the sustainability of the environment will be preserved. Many fast-food burger restaurants still use plastic straws, and they can try to follow Grill’d's benchmark by using more ecofriendly straws. According to the CEO of PacknWood, which operates a food service product company, paper straws could cost 10 times more than plastic straws (Ell, K., 2018). The only other company that is planning to lessen the use of plastic straws is Starbucks (Ell, K., 2018).
By being sustainable in their respective industry, Grill'd may provide an example for other industries to follow. Grill'd may show other businesses that being sustainable does not necessarily have to be at the cost of profit (Rogers, M., 2016).
Other than the company itself, Grill'd also has managed to benefit society and the environment. Being a sustainable business ensures that the environment is being taken care of (Rogers, M., 2016). Grill'd wants to ensure that the environment is not further damaged.
Grill'd also conducts charity in its daily business, by donating to local communities each month. Suffice to say, Grill'd is trying to give back to the community and trying to help communities to improve in the future (Grill'd, 2019).
Get stories of positive business innovations from around the world delivered right to your inbox.
Glenn Baillie, Store Senior Manager
