#44: Saving the world from McDonald's with MAX CEO Richard Bergfors

MAX is a family-owned restaurant chain with more than 170 locations, consistently ranked as the favorite burger chain in Sweden.

We talked with CEO and owner Richard Bergfors about the secret to their success, competing with giants like McDonald's and Burger King, international expansion, failures and challenges, market trends, and a lot more.

Learn more:

⁠https://www.max.se/⁠

⁠https://generogrowth.com/⁠

⁠https://www.instagram.com/burgerspotting/⁠

(0:00) Introduction

(0:55) How MAX got started

(5:05) @Burgerspotting and eating 400+ burgers per year

(10:03) Max’s secret to success

(14:15) The competitive advantage of a family business

(17:40) Will Max become bigger than McDonald’s in Sweden?

(20:38) Expanding to Poland and Egypt

(24:55) What Richard loves most about his job

(26:45) Why MAX is no longer in Dubai

(29:27) The "better burger" trend and market consolidation

(33:40) Betting on plant-based

(38:47) Richard’s go-to MAX order, recent lessons learned, inspiration, thoughts on the future