Rustlers are a range of

hamburger A hamburger (or simply a burger) consists of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The patties are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis ...

s and hot

sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

es made by Kepak, a company based in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Republic of Ireland. Each product in the range comes packed with a

sachet Although its most usual definition is that listed under "packet" (see link above), a sachet can also mean a small scented cloth bag filled with herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, wit ...

of sauce appropriate for the food. Several products are now also packaged with a slice of

processed cheese Processed cheese (also known as process cheese; related terms include cheese food, prepared cheese, cheese product, and/or government cheese) is a product made from cheese mixed with an emulsifying agent (actually a calcium chelator). Additiona ...

and/or a rasher of

bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...

Marketing

One focus of the marketing is on the short cooking time and the use of a

microwave oven A microwave oven, or simply microwave, is an electric oven that heats and cooks food by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. This induces Dipole#Molecular dipoles, polar molecules in the food to rotate and ...

to heat the food. According to a 2008 article in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', the brand's early marketing campaigns were aimed at young men who may prefer convenience food. This can be seen in marketing involving desirable young women, and the original television advert involving young men taking modified microwaves to "

cruise Cruise or Cruises may also refer to: Tourism * Cruise, any travel on a cruise ship * Booze cruise * Music cruise * River cruise Aeronautics and aircraft * Cruise (aeronautics), a distinct stage of an aircraft's flight * Aviasouz Cruise, a R ...

" style events. In 2012, two online adverts for the brand were banned by the ASA because they were sexually provocative. In 2020, the brand launched a new marketing campaign claiming to be "better than you think", stating Rustlers microwaveable burgers are made of 100% British and Irish beef.

Products

Rustlers manufacture several products including cheeseburgers and chicken burgers. In 2018, Rustlers launched an all day breakfast sausage muffin. As of February 2025, other products such as hotdogs and

pancakes A pancake, also known as a hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack, is a flat type of batter bread like cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based Batter (cooking), batter that may contain eggs, milk, and butter, and then cooked on a ...

are also available.

Meat-free products

In 2019, with a target audience of 18- to 24-year-olds, Kepak launched its first Rustlers

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

burger, a Moroccan felafel patty, named on the packet as "Moroccan vegetarian burger, carrot &

coriander Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual plant, annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the ...

falafel Falafel (; , ) is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter of Egyptian origin that features in Middle Eastern cuisine, particularly Levantine cuisines. It is made from ground fava beans, chickpeas, or both, and mixed with herbs and spic ...

with

mango chutney Green mango chutney, also known as ''raw mango chutney'', is an Indian and Pakistan chutney A chutney () is a spread typically associated with cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such ...

and yogurt and mint sauce". In November 2021 in

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

, Tesco One Stop and Booker outlets, Kepak launched the Rustlers Meatless Maverick, a meat-free burger. However, although the burger is made from pea protein, a cheese slice is included in the pack, so that the package is not wholly plant-based or vegan. It was designed in 2021 to mimic the brand's Quarter Pounder SKU, and to be sold at the same price as the Rustlers original meat-based burgers. In September 2022 in

, Kepak launched the Meatless Maverick Chick’un Fillet, consisting of a plant-based chicken-style fillet with vegan mayonnaise in a soft seeded roll.

Eat Late Eat Safe campaign

In 2007 the brand became associated with the "Eat Late Eat Safe" campaign. This is an effort by UK fire services to spread awareness about the dangers of cooking while under the influence of alcohol, particularly aimed at university students. The brand is particularly suitable for this purpose because of its reliance on microwave ovens, which are generally regarded as less likely to cause fires. Rustlers' involvement in the cause involves a section linking to the campaign's site on its own website, and the distribution of free samples and money-off coupons during a tour of UK universities. The campaign's awareness leaflets are given out with the samples and coupons.

References

External links

{{Portal, Companies
Rustlers - The Original One Finger Food; Rustlers official website
* The 2008 Rustlers ad with modified microwaves can be seen on YouTub
here
British snack foods Hamburgers (food)