We ran national promotions to drive frequency of our value offerings, including burgers at unbeatable price points. The grilled chicken category remained a focus with promotions for single and family meals. We implemented two price increases, balancing affordable pricing and protecting margins in the indulgent categories.

We exceeded our budget for new restaurants by opening 27 new restaurants, which contributed to system-wide sales growth for the year. This included 14 new drive thru restaurants, increasing our total drive thru footprint by 5%.

Steers continued to introduce self-service terminals and digital menu boards to improve the consumer experience. By year-end, 177 self-service terminals were operational, and 91% of our Steers footprint had digital menu boards. The delivery channel continued to grow across own delivery platform and through third-party aggregators.

The brand's sponsorship of the Varsity Cup supported brand affinity, provided access to vending opportunities, and resulted in significant media coverage through SuperSport and digital and social media platforms.

In response to consumers seeking affordability, Debonairs Pizza strengthened its value offerings. We offered Real Deal pizza meals and pizza wraps at a price point below R30 to attract new consumers and drive transactions. We also introduced chicken shots and wings as pizza accompaniments to boost transaction value. Messaging around savings was emphasised. We implemented two minimal price increases to stay ahead of inflation.

The successful rollout of kitchen display systems across the network has delivered tangible results in improving preparation times and allowing consumers to receive their orders faster. These contributed to an increase in delivery orders and higher customer ratings. The full brand network moved from offering free delivery to charging for the delivery service in October 2024. As expected, we experienced a decline in own delivery transactions, but volumes have shown signs of recovery by year-end.

All recently revamped restaurants now offer self-service terminals, and every newly opened and revamped restaurant has digital menu boards.

We continued to focus on healthy options and offering value, including sharing meals, platters and entry-level price points. Providing affordable single meals, including the under 500-calorie menu offerings, has assisted in growing lunchtime trade. We also grew transaction sizes through sharing meal promotions and offering value on higher-priced menu items. Our procurement team has managed to secure stable pricing for hake, allowing the brand to make two modest menu price increases. A focus on local marketing has boosted consumer awareness around our restaurants.

We launched the exclusively online branded SHOOSHI offering in November 2024 to complement our existing sushi menu and attract new consumers. Our sushi rollout gathered momentum, with 170 restaurants participating by year-end. Sushi sales are growing with consumers enjoying this menu item at an affordable price point.

Our delivery drive continued, and 80% of restaurants deliver through own delivery and third-party aggregators. By year-end, 85% of our restaurants had digital menu boards, improving flexibility in-store for menu items displayed. We are also implementing kitchen display systems to reduce food preparation time.

Consumers’ low disposable income is evident in the performance of our sit-down restaurants compared to our One-The-Move formats. The smaller On-The-Move restaurants experienced strong system-wide sales growth, largely driven by the opening of 20 new restaurants.

The high coffee price, due to adverse weather conditions in major coffee-producing regions, supply chain disruptions, and rising production costs, was a major challenge for the brand. This meant that we had to increase overall pricing above inflation to maintain margins.

We experienced sustained interest and uptake of the Mugg & Bean coffee subscription launched in February 2023.

Mugg & Bean’s partnership with leading plant-based chef Mokgadi Itsweng delivered tangible benefits in its third year. We added additional plant-based dishes to our menus and experienced consumer engagement with our digital and social content. The partnership is an important pillar for the brand.

Our partnership with Discovery Vitality also provides excellent benefits with continued growth and members increasingly selecting Mugg & Bean as a preferred partner to redeem their points. The Vitality Healthy Dining items have outperformed expectations.

The repositioning of the Wimpy brand continues to deliver strong sales results, despite the squeeze on disposable income. Our partnership with Engen continues to cement Wimpy as the go-to pit stop for travelling consumers. Wimpy secured vending opportunities at local and cultural sporting events, which expanded our brand presence.

In October 2024, we launched a new menu with a completely refreshed design and new products and flavours across the coffee, breakfast, grills and dessert categories. The menu makes use of simple yet impactful food innovation to meet consumer needs, including the need for value. The overall menu price increase was marginal to support franchise partner profitability while acknowledging the difficult economic conditions.

The loyalty app continued to deliver impressive results, with our active user base growing each month. Average transaction sizes are higher on the app and features such as order and pay at table help to drive this.

Milky Lane continues to provide consumers with convenience through the hub-and-spoke model. Our mobile carts are an extension of our stores and brand and function as spokes for our impulse indulgent category. Our mobile carts offer a limited menu, and value-driven impulse products priced under R30. This boosts franchise partner profitability through vending opportunities at events and strategic locations. We have 67 mobile carts nationwide and two Nice Cream trucks.

This year, we partnered with well-known brands Lotus Biscoff and Nutella to introduce new variants. In February 2025, the brand capitalised on the bubble tea trend by offering a new boba craft soda range.

We continue to leverage third-party delivery partnerships to conveniently take our product to consumers.