It was founded in Canberra by then-medical student Sam Prince with the idea of using the profits to support humanitarian causes. The chain donates a meal to someone in need in the developing world for every meal purchased through their Plate4Plate program, as of July 2025, it has donated over 94 million meals.[1][2]
Zambrero is one of Australia’s largest Mexican food franchise with over 300 restaurants globally.[1][3]
Zambrero opened its first restaurant in Lonsdale Street, Braddon in 2005,[4] opening its 100th restaurant a decade later in Midland, Western Australia.[5] Zambrero was recognised as one of Australia’s fastest growing franchises on the BRW Fastest Franchises List for 2011, 2012 and 2013 and Fast 100 List for 2014 and 2015.[6][7][8][9] As of September 2024, Zambrero has 300 restaurants worldwide in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the US and the UK.[10]
Zambrero opened its first restaurant in New Zealand in November 2014, in Dublin, Ireland in March 2016[11] and opened its first two restaurants in United States on 20 March 2018.[12]
Philanthropy
In conjunction with partner organisation Rise Against Hunger, Zambrero's Plate 4 Plate initiative have donated 90,000,000 meals.[13][14][15]
The company had shifted from an earlier goal of supplying educational resources to indigenous communities and developing countries, for which Prince had founded the E-magine Foundation in 2007, to reducing global hunger.[16]
Accolades
Zambrero won the “Australian Business Awards Enterprise of the Year” award in 2015[17] and in 2016 the QSR Media “Best Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative” and “Best Sustainability Initiative” awards.[18]
Nutrition
A 2016 study by the George Institute for Global Health, analysing 229 small meals and snacks from 25 fast food chains, found Zambrero's pork nachos to have the highest kilojoule count.[19]
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