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Integrated Annual Report

Sustainability

Corporate social investment

Corporate social investment

Our CSI programme makes a meaningful contribution to the communities in which we operate, while fostering a sense of purpose and consumer connection with our brands. We also provide our employees with a platform to represent our brands and enrich their own lives by doing good for others.

Our CSI programme is managed in line with its policy framework and is considered a key brand-building activity for our Leading Brands portfolio in South Africa. Some of our CSI activities qualify for recognition under the B-BBEE scorecard's socio-economic development pillar.

The Transformation Office coordinates CSI activities, guided by the Social and Ethics Working Committee and overseen by the Board's Social and Ethics Committee. The management team of Leading Brands, supported by franchise partners, is responsible for developing and executing CSI activities.

Franchise partners may also implement their own community-based CSI activities with guidance from Famous Brands. These contributions are acknowledged at annual brand conferences.

Our CSI objectives

Our CSI policy and activities focus on:

  • Long-term partnerships with reputable and effective CSI partner organisations.
  • Supporting initiatives that enjoy broad-based stakeholder appeal to improve relationships with existing stakeholders and engaging new stakeholders.
  • Avoiding unsustainable relationships and handout tendencies.
  • Programmes that actively consult the beneficiaries in the programme design, implementation and evaluation.
  • Quantifying the costs and benefits of programmes in how they contribute to capacity building, improving quality of life and sustainable development.
  • Defining the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders and beneficiaries, with an emphasis on financial controls and corporate governance compliance.
  • Gaining buy-in and commitment from franchise partners.
  • Contributing to the socio-economic upliftment of historically disadvantaged communities.

Our CSI objectives

Each brand within the Leading Brands portfolio has a flagship CSI initiative that ties to its unique brand story. We tend to have long-term relationships with CSI partner organisations that benefit from our financial contributions and the opportunities for enhancing profile and visibility. In 2025, we spent R19.3 million on our CSI initiatives across the following focus areas.

Our CSI focus areas

Health

R4.6 million

Education

R540 000

Environment

R25 000

Sport

R11.3 million

Social development

R2.8 million

Our CSI approach has evolved from being about 'what we do' to becoming 'who we are'. We emphasise franchise partner involvement in CSI activities, including training restaurant employees to embrace CSI campaigns. Supporting CSI activities at the restaurant level boosts employee morale and a sense of teamwork.

We showcase CSI promotional material at restaurants, including posters and T-shirts. Most of our fleet of trucks includes CSI messaging in their branding. We also activate CSI campaigns through digital media on the brands' social media pages and websites.

Group initiatives

IFA Lethu

In 2022, Famous Brands established IFA Lethu, meaning 'our legacy', a CSI initiative that covers franchise partners' registered home delivery drivers in the event of accidental death or disability while on duty. Famous Brands fully funds the premiums for both the death and disability insurance products.

Tembisa Feeding Scheme

  • Initiative established in 2020
  • 135 beneficiaries
  • R1.0 million contribution (2024: R745 000)

The Famous Brands Head Office canteen in Midrand supplies the organisation with meals for a daily feeding scheme for 100 children and 35 staff members.

Founded in 1986, the Tembisa Child and Family Welfare provides a haven for abandoned, abused, neglected children and HIV/AIDS infected orphans. While the organisation aims to secure foster or adoptive families, children are placed in two children's homes where this is not possible. The organisation also creates local employment through projects such as a sewing school, a bakery, food gardening, soap, recycling and a beauty salon.

In 2025, Famous Brands employees participated in several activations and donated 75 hours of their time. This included:

  • Collecting eggs for an Easter egg hunt.
  • Painting two boys' dormitories.
  • Hosting a lunch for the children, including pizza donated from Debonairs Pizza.
  • Collecting warm clothes for winter.
  • Hosting a Christmas party for over 100 children and 35 care workers in December 2024.
  • Handed over our back-to-school donation to the value of R20 000.
  • Collecting toys for the babies.

" Your team came in full force to make all the children smile. Thank you once again for giving our children a generous Easter egg hunt. For most, this experience was a first, and it will go into their special place of memories."

Lindi from Tembisa Child

and Family Welfare

Steers

Sports sponsorships

  • Partnership established in 2019
  • 985 beneficiaries
  • R11.3 million contribution (2024: R9.2 million)

Steers sponsors the Varsity Cup and Varsity Shield. These university contests showcase the best emerging rugby players while supporting them in building a rugby career and offering scholarship programmes to ensure they continue their education.

 

Steers ROUNDA

  • Initiative established in 2018
  • > 400 000 meals served
  • R1.47 million contribution (2024: R1.2 million)

Steers supports the ROUNDA initiative established by the Nikela Charity Funding and Development Trust. Nikela means 'to give' in Zulu. The trust focuses on alleviating poverty and hunger in South Africa. ROUNDA, which runs both in-store and online, encourages consumers to donate an additional R2 when making a purchase.

The proceeds from its 2025 'Feed the Flame' campaign support the trust's feeding schemes. The trust collaborates with FoodForward South Africa, a national non-profit organisation, to distribute the funds to feeding schemes across the country. Thanks in part to the recurring revenue generated through ROUNDA, FoodForward South Africa distributes 22 000 tons of food per year and serves 180 million plus meals to 1.2 million daily beneficiaries.

Debonairs Pizza Doughnation

  • Initiative established in 2012
  • R106 000 contribution (2024: R745 000)
  • R1.47 million contribution (2024: R1.2 million)

Debonairs Pizza's Doughnation initiative aims to transform excess pizza dough into flatbreads, which are then delivered to community organisations that support children, the elderly, and families in need. The franchise partners and their employees select and partner with community organisations and are responsible for preparing the dough and making weekly deliveries.

Doughnation operates in South Africa and Botswana, with over 680 franchise partners participating. The brand supports Doughnation through a dedicated newsletter, where franchise partners' CSI stories are showcased.

Wimpy

Reach for a Dream Foundation

  • Partnership established in 2013
  • >1 500 dreams made a reality to date
  • R1.7 million contribution (2024: R1.3 million)

Wimpy has been a longtime supporter of the Reach for a Dream Foundation since 2013. For 35 years, Reach for a Dream has offered children a magical moment to regain their childhood while fighting a serious illness. Wimpy and other corporate sponsors support the foundation's annual Slipper Day event in May. Wimpy consumers can purchase a Slipper Day sticker for R20 or make a donation. For every sticker purchased or every donation over R20, Wimpy rewards consumers with a free coffee to be enjoyed on Slipper Day.

 

Ethnikids

  • Partnership established in 2022
  • >170 000 books distributed
  • R540 000 contribution (2024: R659 000)

Mugg & Bean and Cupcakes of Hope

  • Partnership established in 2013
  • +2 200 requests from families with cancer-affected children fulfilled
  • 50 activations took place at 50 different shopping malls fulfilled by Cupcakes of Hope
  • R2.7 million contribution (2024: R3.1 million)

Mugg & Bean partners with Cupcakes of Hope, a non-profit organisation that assists between 100 and 130 families each month by covering their medical expenses or providing support with everyday costs. The Mugg & Bean brand’s ethos of generosity perfectly aligns with the generous contributions that Cupcakes of Hope makes to families in need. As Cupcakes of Hope expanded, Mugg & Bean also increased its annual support.

Mugg & Bean offers a donation portal on its website for Cupcakes of Hope, enabling consumers to donate any amount through a secure online form. The portal can even generate a customer tax receipt if required.

In 2023, Mugg & Bean expanded its support of Cupcakes of Hope from one month to a full year. This includes promoting Cupcakes of Hope in-store and through digital media, as well as ramping up awareness for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September through outdoor and television advertising. Mugg & Bean donated R1 to Cupcakes of Hope for every giant muffin sold. In September, the brand donated R2 for every giant muffin purchased.

With support from Mugg & Bean, Cupcakes of Hope delivered almost 650 care packs to oncology doctors and nurses.

Milky Lane and the Smile Foundation

  • Partnership established in 2018
  • R403 000 contribution (2024: R253 000)

Milky Lane supports the Smile Foundation to offer life-changing plastic surgery for disadvantaged children with facial abnormalities, including cleft lip and palate, facial paralysis and burns. Each surgery can cost up to R95 000 at a public hospital. For over 25 years, the foundation has transformed the lives of more than 5 000 children and their families.

Milky Lane franchise partners host fun events, including cycling challenges, to raise funds for the foundation. Franchise partners actively participate in these events and provide Milky Lane vouchers as prizes. The brand provides children who have undergone the procedure with a gift bag containing a teddy bear and blankets. The brand matches the franchise partners' contributions.

Fishaways and Clean Up Mzansi

  • Partnership established in 2018
  • R25 000 contribution (2024: R253 000)

In 2023, Fishaways launched Clean Up Mzansi, an initiative to address the pollution issue in South Africa. According to the UN Environmental Programme, between 95 000 and 250 000 tonnes of litter enters the oceans that surround South Africa. This has a dire impact on marine life and the fishing industry.

Transformation
Corporate Governance Approach