Shiso Burger

What Shiso Burger does

Shiso Burger GmbH is a Berlin-headquartered fast-casual restaurant chain founded in June 2013 by Tam Nguyen and Hien Khai Tieu, operating approximately 15 locations across Germany, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, Saudi Arabia, and La Réunion. The company fuses Western gourmet burger formats with traditional Asian cuisine, offering Angus beef, chicken, fish & seafood (salmon, shrimp, tuna), and vegetarian/vegan burgers prepared fresh in open kitchens and served in proprietary black sesame buns. Signature differentiators include the house-made sauces, bamboo/dumpling basket presentation, and a "best of two worlds" brand positioning that targets health-conscious burger consumers across all ages.

The business operates a hybrid model combining company-owned restaurants with a franchise system launched in 2016, which offers both single-restaurant licenses in Germany (€35,000 one-time fee plus 7% royalty on net sales) and territorial master franchising internationally, with total per-unit investment of €750,000–€1,000,000. Revenue streams include direct restaurant sales, franchise license fees and royalties, online food ordering via Flipdish, and branded merchandise through a Shopify storefront. The company is privately held, founder-controlled, GDPR-compliant, and has grown without disclosed institutional funding or acquisitions.

Name

Shiso Burger

Legal name

Shiso Burger GmbH

Website

https://shisoburger.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Shiso Burger GmbH is a Berlin-founded fast-casual chain (est. June 2013) operating ~15 franchised and company-owned restaurants across Europe and the Middle East, serving Asian-inspired gourmet burgers, sides, and merchandise to health-conscious consumers and franchise partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fast-Casual Restaurants

NAICS

Special Food Services (7223)

akta.pro primary industry

Burger Fast Casual (THAFABAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Plant-Based & Vegan Fast Casual (THAFABAK)

Keywords

• Asian-inspired burgers
• Gourmet fast-casual
• Restaurant franchise
• Plant-based burgers
• Burger restaurant chain

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Company-Owned Restaurant Sales: Revenue generated from direct restaurant operations at company-owned Shiso Burger locations. The company operates restaurants in Berlin and other cities, serving Asian-inspired gourmet burgers and sides to walk-in customers and online orders.
2. Online Ordering Platform: Online food ordering system powered by Flipdish, enabling customers to order for delivery or pickup. Revenue flows through the transaction of food orders placed via the company's website.
3. Franchise Licensing: One-time franchise license fee of €35,000 per restaurant plus ongoing royalty of 7% of net sales for use of the Shiso Burger brand, system, and support services. Territorial franchising available for international expansion.
4. Merchandise Sales: Sale of Shiso Burger branded merchandise through the online Shopify store at shop.shisoburger.com.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Shiso Burger operates a fast-casual restaurant chain serving freshly prepared Asian-inspired gourmet burgers with Angus beef, chicken, fish/seafood, and vegetarian/vegan options, complemented by sides, salads, and customizable extras. The company runs directly operated restaurants alongside a franchise model (launched in 2016) covering Germany, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, Saudi Arabia, and La Réunion, and sells branded merchandise online through a Shopify storefront.

Product overview

Shiso Burger is a restaurant chain offering a unified product: freshly prepared gourmet burgers that fuse Asian cuisine with the classic burger format. The core product line consists of Signature Asia Burgers available in meat (Angus beef, chicken), fish & seafood (salmon, shrimp, tuna), and vegetarian/vegan varieties (tofu, eggplant, Portobello mushroom). Complementary products include sides (homemade fries, kimchi, Edamame) and salads. The company also operates an online merchandise shop and an online ordering platform powered by Flipdish for customer convenience. All food is prepared fresh in open kitchens with signature ingredients like Shiso leaves and house-made sauces in fluffy buns with black sesame.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Signature Asia Burgers Freshly prepared gourmet burgers combining the classic burger format with Asian cuisine, featuring Angus beef, shiso leaves, and house-made sauces served in proprietary black sesame buns.
• Meat Burgers (Beef and Chicken) Angus beef and chicken burgers with Asian-inspired flavors, spices, and signature sauces served in homemade black sesame buns.
• Fish & Seafood Burgers Salmon, shrimp, and tuna burgers served with shiso leaves, providing healthy alternatives to meat with Asian-inspired preparation methods.
• Vegetarian & Vegan Burgers Veggie burger with pickled tofu and grilled eggplant, Toad burger with Portobello mushrooms, and other plant-based options using fresh vegetables.
• Sides & Salads Homemade fries, vitamin-rich kimchi, edamame beans, and salads such as Pure Salad with Bulgogi served as accompaniments to burgers.
• Shiso Burger Merchandise Shop

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Shake Shack: US-based premium fast-casual burger chain with growing European presence. Targets similar design-conscious, quality-focused urban diners and represents the global benchmark Shiso's positioning aspires to.
• McDonald's: Global fast-food incumbent with extensive German and European presence. Represents the mainstream burger occasion Shiso explicitly positions against, but defines the addressable market size for burger consumption.
• Vapiano: German-headquartered fresh-pasta fast-casual concept with international presence. Comparable in scale, DACH origin, and franchise-driven model, though positioned in Italian cuisine rather than burgers.
• Five Guys: American premium burger chain with global presence including multiple German and European locations. Competes for the same premium burger occasion but operates at significantly larger scale and brand recognition than Shiso.
• dean&david: German healthy fast-casual chain offering bowls, salads, and burgers with a health-conscious positioning. Shares Shiso's 'away from fast food culture' angle and DACH focus but operates in a broader menu format.

Emerging players

• Umami Burger: US-based premium burger concept built around Asian-inspired umami flavors and ingredients. Conceptually aligned with Shiso's Asian-burger fusion thesis, demonstrating that the Asian-gourmet-burger niche has precedent in other markets.

Direct peers

• Peter Pane: Germany's largest burger chain by unit count, offering a broad gourmet burger menu across multiple cities. Closest direct competitor to Shiso in the German premium fast-casual burger category with comparable quality positioning.
• The Bird: Berlin-based premium burger restaurant known for steak and chicken burgers. Shares Shiso's Berlin home market and comparable gourmet burger positioning, making it a direct local competitor.
• Hans im Glück: German premium burger chain with a distinctive fairytale-inspired brand identity. Directly competes with Shiso Burger in the German gourmet/fast-casual burger segment, serving similar urban, design-conscious diners at comparable price points.
• Burgerista: Austrian-headquartered gourmet burger chain expanding across Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Operates in the same DACH premium fast-casual burger space as Shiso Burger with overlapping target customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shiso-burger
• Instagraminstagram.com/shisoburgerberlin
• Facebookfacebook.com/ShisoBurger

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shiso Burger