Local growth prospects are limited by significant infrastructure challenges, including unreliable electricity and water supply, logistics sector issues and high levels of crime and corruption. These conditions, together with bureaucracy, make South Africa a challenging economy in which to do business.

Economic headwinds in South Africa have significantly curtailed consumer spending. We also have high unemployment and a widening inequality gap. In recent years, salary growth has been eroded by high inflation. Less disposable income means consumers prioritise essential spending and seek value for money.

The rapid growth of online gaming platforms has further eroded disposable income. In 2023, R1.1 trillion was wagered by consumers in the South African gambling industry, 40.2% higher than in 2022. Total revenue generated from gambling was R59.3 billion. Of this revenue, 60.5% is attributed to betting, which is largely dominated by online players¹.

There were some green shoots in our 2025 operating context, including the cessation of load shedding, Rand stability, lower inflation, and the beginning of the interest rate cut cycle in September 2024.

We ensure that our brands’ offerings meet the consumers’ requirements for quality, service and price. Our offerings are accessible across every format and channel. We regularly enhance our ordering platforms and loyalty programmes to attract and retain consumers. We continuously refine our marketing strategies and invest in our brands to maintain and win market share.

As at-home consumption grows, our Retail brands are well-placed to give consumers a taste of their favourite brands at home.

We are deepening our strategic procurement capabilities to achieve the best pricing on key commodities. Where opportunities arise, we manage inventory levels to secure better pricing. We are always diversifying our supplier base to prevent shortages.

We continuously evolve our franchise value proposition to ensure that it will be appealing to current and prospective franchise partners. We also have several franchise partners developing multi-brand restaurant portfolios. 72% of new sites go to existing franchise partners.

Companies increasingly expect their employees to return to the office. This increased movement benefits the restaurant trade, with an uptick in demand for breakfast, lunch and quick snacks. Night trade remains depressed, and tourism, both local and international, has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

Consumers increasingly seek convenience. This includes delivery (own and third-party aggregators), collect ordering and drive thru orders.

While saving money remains important, consumers still want to treat themselves and socialise over a meal. Here, restaurants, especially CDR options, are viewed as an affordable luxury.

Some 26 million South Africans use social media1. These platforms, online reviews, and ratings are increasingly used to criticise and compliment brands.

We have developed our delivery services (both own delivery and through third-party food aggregators) to extend our footprint. We continue to roll out smaller formats at convenient locations and expand our drive thru restaurant footprint. Our menus and packaging cater to the needs of at-home dining experiences, offering both exceptional taste and presentation.

Our menus offer plant-based options across several brands. We are also incorporating more chicken items on our menus to meet the increasing demand for this protein source among consumers.

We cater to more health-conscious consumers by providing easy-to-understand information about ingredients and kilojoules across our Leading Brands’ menus. We comply with industry legislation regarding salt and sugar consumption and continuously monitor it. Some menus provide low-kilojoule meal offerings.

From a sustainability perspective, we are minimising food waste, reducing the use of single-use plastics, and adopting more environmentally friendly packaging.

We design restaurants to draw in more foot traffic from younger patrons. This includes expanding our social media presence, offering many ordering options, and, where possible, offering free Wi-Fi. We track our brands’ social media activity and online reviews.

Consumer expectations regarding digital engagement are shaped by their experiences in other sectors, including banking and retail. They increasingly expect a frictionless digital experience when interacting with restaurant brands, including finding restaurants, making bookings and ordering food.

App-enabled food delivery is now a major category. While AI is in the early phases of adoption in the food services industry, it will likely play a larger role in the future.

The South African food delivery industry, including the growing grocery category, is scaling as consumers seek convenience, speedy delivery and competitive pricing. Major retailers have made significant investments in this space and are capturing a share of meal delivery purchases from fast food delivery aggregators and restaurants. The growth of the grocery category is also impacting foot counts at malls as consumers forgo their weekly shopping trips.

As technology becomes more pervasive and advanced, big data analytics and digital technologies will be used to analyse complex datasets and extract actionable insights. These will allow companies to offer more personalised experiences at scale.

We participate in the delivery channel through own delivery and partnerships with aggregators. In 2025, we continued to scale the delivery hub model with 22 new delivery hubs opened in SA. This is where one franchise partner takes over delivery for several restaurants in a defined area. This provides an attractive business model for the delivery hub owner while removing the hassle factor of deliveries for other franchise partners.

We are investing in consumer-facing technology to improve the overall consumer dining and delivery experience. At our restaurants, we are implementing self-service terminals, digital menu boards and digital payment solutions. Kitchen display systems used in restaurant kitchens also improve preparation times. In 2025, we began rolling out Munch Software’s cloud-based POS system to our CDR network. This offers us greater control and standardisation of POS.

We offer our consumers contactless payment solutions, including a pay-at-table option.

We must invest resources and work with technology partners to stay ahead of technology trends. In 2025, we began investing in our data warehouse capabilities.