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Despite initial consumer concerns about mad-cow disease and the grassroots success of the documentary "Supersize Me", the beef burger, a stable of the American diet, isn't going away. The burger is simply being re-invented and across the country there are a number of restaurants both large and small, leading the charge to burger 2.0.

St-Louis based Hardee's, is one, the brand believes trends are bi-polar; while there may an increasing trend towards health, there are also people looking to devour bigger burgers. Hardee's contribution has been the well-publicized Thickburger.

However, Hardee's is not done, its "burger research lab" has the goal of developing one new burger every month.

Meanwhile, in New York City, for the past few years, there's been a mini gourmet burger revival going on.

Then there's Better Burger, that does what it says. Nearly everything here is organic, including the meats and fries and it only uses non-hydrogenated oils.

Pop Burger is another restaurant that's re-defining the burger experience. Hip, kitsch American diner by day and sophisticated celebrity lounge by night. As far as the burger is concerned, Pop has made the gourmet mini-burger its specialty.

Despite much negative publicity, burgers still seem to be pretty strong and are even helping to establish a new category of fast casual restaurants. It proves that there is always life in a classic product if you can just find the right way to re-tool it. Better Burger and Pop have leveraged different contemporary trends to re-invent the humble burger; Pop uses designer led style and Better Burger highlights the health and quality angle. The burger is still basically a burger, but these guys just made it relevant again to new audiences.

There's lesson here for all brands that are looking to re-connect with their consumer. By simply discovering what trends can be leveraged, brands can gain greater relevance and breathe new life in old categories.