Hungry Bunny is a local creation that opened up in the early 80s in Kuwait. It was inspired by a Australian franchise called Hungry Jack which was what Burger King was called in Australia back then.
In 1997 Al Homaizi Foodstuff Co. who owned Hungry Bunny got the rights to Burger King. Since they couldn’t have two competing franchises they decided to close down all the Hungry Bunnys and open up Burger Kings in the same locations.
Since then there have been copycats the most popular being “Hungry Bunny World” and “Super Bunny” which was named after the famous Hungry Bunny burger. Hungry Bunny World actually opened up a branch on the 4th Ring Road back in 2005 and called it just “Hungry Bunny”. This led to a lot of speculation and rumors that Hungry Bunny was relaunching but they weren’t true. Al Homaizi sued (or threatened to sue) so they added the word “World” on their signage.
I heard awhile back from a friend that Al Homaizi was actually thinking of relaunching Hungry Bunny but I don’t know if thats true or not. For now the only way you can enjoy Hungry Bunny is to drive down to Saudi Arabia where the franchise still exists there. Here is the link to their website: www.hungry-bunny.com
note: the above information is based on my knowledge. If there are any mistakes in dates or events I will fix them but as far as I know the above is accurate.
update: A reader by the name of HaMooR wrote the following:
Dear Mark,
Al Homaizi has the BK franchize since the first hungry bunny openned in Kuwait. and I believe it was Kaifan branch, in order for Al Homaizi to sake BK prudects at that time in kuwait. they have to change the name of BK, because BK was consider in the taboo list (boycott Isreal).
There was a big sign in kaifan branch that says all the meat prudects are BK. So when BK was removed from the list back in 97 .. and there is no reason to for them to hide the name, they switched to BK.
34 replies on “Hungry Bunny Story”
the BK whopper tastes almost exactly like the super bunny.
it’s just slightly sweatier bc the whopper is wrapped in foil as opposed to the super bunny which used to come fresh in those old style banned styro boxes.
what you could do then is take a styro box from mcdonalds with you to burger king and tell them to put the whopper in it 🙂
i dont think it will work like it used to back then in the 90’s
on the website you got linked, it says that there are franchise opportunities available for kuwait 😛
Mark, the About section in the website you provided claims that hungry bunny is a “true saudi arabian success … since 1987” and the founder is a mr Al dosary. I’ve also had the impression that HB was a kuwaiti franchise; and if Al homaizi are suing, you know someone is lying. I mean why would they sue over something in which they dont have in interest?
I have a question, holla why do you say styrofoam is banned? I see it used all the time. should we be concerned?
UzF i read that too but I figured they meant success as in they were able to make the franchise flourish in Saudi Arabia. Hungry Bunny is Kuwait.
Styrofoam is not banned, a type of it I believe was stopped being used because it contained CFC but McDonalds for example uses Styrofoam which is CFC free.
I was gonna comment about how Saudi said it was there success if it was actually made in Kuwait but UzF already mentioned that.
Anyways why is there a GAP in this paragraph?? ” Our Chairman started Hungry Bunny with one branch in ………………………and today it has 20 branches across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ” where did they open that one branch??
I loved Hungry Bunny and hated when it became BK!
Me too 🤚
yea.. i remeber goin to hungry bunny way back when i was a kid… i used to go there often.. but not much after it became BK.. i evn remeber their theme song which went sumtin like “hungry bunny is the place to be… for u and me” lol
Dear Mark,
Al Homaizi has the BK franchize since the first hungry bunny openned in Kuwait. and I believe it was Kaifan branch, in order for Al Homaizi to sake BK prudects at that time in kuwait. they have to change the name of BK, because BK was consider in the taboo list ) boycott Isreal.
there was a big sign in kaifan branch that says all the meat prudects are BK. So when BK was removed from the list back in 97 .. and there is no reason to for them to hide the name, they switched to BK.
Gotta love the wassup stoned bunny logo. Imagine the stories behind that one.
i want HB roast beef 🙁
Hungry Bunny was my favorite when I was a kid, along with Hardeez!! But I like BK too, specially their fries.
I remember hungry bunny but towards the end I didn’t like their burgers! I know everyone is getting nostalgic on it but there is a lot of better choices out there right now. I don’t think the Al Homaizi Group has the right managment to get things together and launch a good franchise. And there are other places out there with good burgers.
actually the chicken burger at HB was better than the BK one.
uffff, Hungry BUnny binga7ba!
there was also “Arbiys” on salmiya after HB it was cool
hungry bunny .. i wish they kept it alive!
it was a great local franchise!
Hungry Bunny – RIP
Arby’s – RIP
Wendy’s – RIP
Wimpy’s – RIP (They just use the logo)
Pizza Italia – RIP
Prego – RIP
Chichis – RIP (not the same anymore)
Hardees – RIP (not the same anymore)
Am I missing anything?
I just wanted to let you know that the logo you have used at the top of the page is NOT the original logo of the Hungry Bunny that was devised and developed by Al Homiazi. The logo belongs to another copy cat company owned and Operated by a Saudi National called Mohamed Al Dossary. The Saudi Hungry Bunny you stated as a Franchise of the original is not true. The Hungry Bunny in Saudi was started in 1987 as a copy of the Kuwait Hungry Bunny and only the Bunny logo was changed. http://www.hungry-bunny.com is the website of the Saudi guy and they now have 20 restaurants run by a guy called Mutaz Al Sous. The owner is very rich thanks to Hungry Bunny and good luck to him but Hungry Bunny Saudi is a FAKE and a COPY and not the original. Wish I could copy and get away with it. The funny thing is that the Saudi Hungry Bunny owner has and is registering the Brand and logo as if he developed it all by himself. God will deal with him when he gets there.
i just would like to add that i recently received an offer for a job in the chain of HB in ksa. the unethical methode of their recruitment team (Mr. moutaz al sous was my contact)is just another way of showing how unprofessional they are.
I am Dr. Waleed from Bharain and just want to note that I visit the Hungry Bunny Restaurant in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in 80’s but I find the restaurant in Saudi Arabia is very clean, nice, very good environment and food are fresh. This restaurant is a huge success in Saudi Arabia and confitting with most leading international fastfood chain. This one in Saudi Arabia is more organize than Kuwait that make me sure they are not connected.
A honest comment!!!!
Aaaahhh! My first date was at Hungry Bunny, Shuwaikh branch, on my lunch break from work. My date is now my husband and we still joke about the unromantic first restaurant that he took me to. I loved their roast beef ‘n salad sandwiches.
i uaed to be a district manager for hungry bunny. I stayed for a while after the change to bk but found it wasnt the same
Dear all,
I know the Story of Hungry Bunny as i Lived the story from inception, the First Location was opened in Keifan as some of you has stated back in 1982, then it was followed by a series of restuatants reaching up to 27 restaurants until May 1997, where they started the “Shifting porcess” into BK, the funny thing that the first branch to be shifted was Keifan on May 26th 1997.
The Logo that is shown up in this article is very similar to the REAL Hungry Bunny Logo but with some color deferences.
And Yes Al-Homaizi is sueing the Saudi Owner of Hungry Bunny KSA as he Stole the whole Idea and menu (But not the quality and dedication) From HB Kuwait.
the neumerous concepts that tried to copycat HB where actually employees of HB prior to its shift, but thankfully they were stopped.
Additionally; HB was almost untoucheble in Kuwait even when a great giant as McDonald was opened.
And for informatin the song for HB goes:”Hungry Bunny I’m So Hungry….gotta have a super bunny right now.
Your comments are the most accurate one.
I know the first owners in Kuwait personally (Al Homaidhee or Al Homaizi Family). And yes the Saudi brand is a copy cat of the original brand in Kuwait.
7asafa hungry bunny kan 3iz ,al7en burgerking khayes
Hello Everyone,
HB was the best that I had when I was in Kuwait during 1986 and 89. Both my sister and I loved it. We used to go to the Rumaithiyah branch.But I am back in India now. Still Hungry for the Bunnies !!!!!!!!!! Hope I get to come again to Kuwait.
Just had a Hungry Bunny today.. Nizwra Oman 😀 And i have to say its the best Mushroom Swish Burger ive had 😉 And the first 😀
I was Chain Mgr of Hungry Bunny from 1994 to 97, I think a well run local chain can take on and succeed against international brands, I hope HB or other companies are a success in the Mid East market.
Hell..I miss my super bunny..I still got loads of their Snoopy toys which came with the kids meal..
I’ve been to SA for short period of time ….and I love to eat at HB. I’ve been think that this food
chain would work in North America. It would be a success.
Does anyone have a recipe of ‘Hunry Bunny’s LAMP CHOPS???
The original hungry bunny food never tasted anything like new restaurants food although they have similar names, not even burger king. Hungry bunny was way tastier . We were all disappointed when they shut down all the branches . I really miss those burgers .