Hungry Jack's: History, Key Facts and Reviews

1970-1971: why Burger King became Hungry Jack’s

Hungry Jack’s exists because the Burger King name was taken in Australia. In 1970 Jack Cowin bought the Burger King franchise rights for the country, then found that an Adelaide takeaway owner, Don Dervan, had already registered the trademark (Wikipedia). Burger King offered him other names from the trademarks of its parent, Pillsbury. Cowin picked Hungry Jack, a pancake mix brand, and made it possessive. The first Hungry Jack’s opened in 1971 in Innaloo, a suburb of Perth.

1972-1995: from Perth to the east coast

The chain grew from Western Australia to the rest of the country over two decades. It reached Adelaide in 1972 and Brisbane in 1974, according to Forbes Australia. The first New South Wales restaurant opened in Sydney’s CBD in October 1981, and in 1986 Hungry Jack’s bought 11 struggling Wendy’s restaurants in Victoria and converted them. The menu was built on the same flame-grilled Whopper that Burger King sells abroad; our guide to what goes on a Whopper breaks it down.

1996-2003: the court battle with Burger King

Hungry Jack’s won a landmark contract case against Burger King Corporation. After the Burger King trademark lapsed in Australia in 1996, the US company accused Hungry Jack’s of missing its expansion targets, tried to end the franchise agreement and, from 1997, opened its own Burger King restaurants in partnership with Shell Australia. In 2001 the Supreme Court of New South Wales ruled that Burger King had breached the contract and awarded Hungry Jack’s A$46.9 million. Burger King left Australia in July 2002, and in September 2003 its 81 remaining restaurants were rebranded Hungry Jack’s, joining about 210 existing ones.

2019-2026: Big Jack, plant-based burgers and 480 restaurants

Today Hungry Jack’s is the only Burger King operator in Australia and adds its own products to the menu. It launched the meat-free Rebel Whopper with v2food in 2019. In 2020 it released the Big Jack; McDonald’s sued for trademark infringement, and in November 2023 the Federal Court found the name was not deceptively similar to Big Mac (Wikipedia). The range now includes an Angus version, which we recreate in our Big Jack Angus recipe. The chain says it runs more than 480 restaurants, employs over 19,000 Australians, serves more than 2 million customers a week and uses more than 125 million Australian beef patties a year (Hungry Jack’s).

Key dates

• 1971: Jack Cowin opens the first Hungry Jack’s in Innaloo, Perth.
• 1981: first New South Wales restaurant, in Sydney’s CBD, in October.
• 1997: Burger King Corporation starts opening its own Burger King restaurants in Australia.
• 2001: the NSW Supreme Court awards Hungry Jack’s A$46.9 million against Burger King.
• 2003: the last 81 Burger King restaurants in Australia become Hungry Jack’s.
• 2020: the Big Jack launches and McDonald’s sues over the name.
• 2023: the Federal Court rules that Big Jack does not infringe the Big Mac trademark.