Our Sustainability journey

Through continued innovation, research and development, and with the best-of-breed energy efficient practices, we are designing a sustainable food services business that benefits our customers and has a positive impact on the environment.

We recognise that sustainability and ESG matters have become a business imperative for our industry. We are on a journey to achieve sustainable growth through several best practice activities and policies together with timeframes in place to track progress.

Our commitment for the future

Our food philosophy is centred around creating food that is good for our customers, our people, local communities and the environment. We believe in FOOD with thought:

F

 Focus on the future of communities and the environment

O

 Open, responsible sourcing

O

 Observing and implementing eco-efficient practices

D

 Developing and managing sustainability policies

As we progress our mindful FOOD journey in line with best practice, we will:

  • review and update our goals and timeframes on an ongoing basis;
  • strive to ensure we remain responsive to emerging trends that have an impact on health and wellness, sustainability, and our communities;
  • be continually mindful of the interests and expectations of our stakeholders; and
  • be accountable for our actions.
Year Heading
FY2019 Our Logistics supply chain operation ceased stocking plastic straws.
All plastic straws were removed from the SA and UK restaurant network and replaced with paper straws.
FY2020 We commenced converting all hot take away coffee cups to a fully recyclable and compostable alternative. Vovo Telo and Mugg & Bean conversion complete.
Recycling logos were added to all our plastic cutlery to drive awareness that the material can be recycled and responsibly disposed of.
Cage-free eggs in use by Vovo Telo, Mugg & Bean, Fego Caffé, PAUL and Creative Coffees. Effective October 2019 egg products were removed from all manufactured sauces, and a phased roll out of the sauces commenced.
All polystyrene eliminated from our Leading brands restaurant network and replaced with recyclable packaging.
FY2021 Concluded elimination of balloons in Debonairs Pizza, Fishaways, Wimpy SA and AME restaurants.
Steers concluded the cage-free egg transition in October 2020.
All brand packaging ranges are currently 100% recyclable and work is going ahead to improve our status by converting to bio-degradable and compostable packaging.
Famous Brands became signatories of the South Africa Food Loss and Waste Agreement.
We launched our fully recyclable, compostable and biodegradable packaging into Wimpy as a replacement for the widely used grill and breakfast box.
FY2022 Milky Lane converted to fully recyclable and compostable hot takeaway cups.
NetCafé and Coffee Couture will be converted to fully recyclable and compostable hot takeaway cups.
Targets to be set for Famous Brands’ selected UN SDGs.
Wimpy to transition to using cage-free eggs in October 2021.
Wimpy to convert to fully recyclable and compostable hot takeaway cups.
2025 All operations will use cage-free eggs.
Ensure that all our brand packaging material is 100 % recyclable, biodegradable and or compostable by 2025.
2030 Consumer Goods Council of South Africa is driving a project to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030.

South Africa Food Loss and Waste Agreement

Famous Brands have become a core signatory to the South Africa Food Loss and Waste Agreement and have committed to:

  • working with the SA government, food sector and associated organisations to achieve the United Nations SDG 12.3 target which states “by 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses;
  • adopt the food utilisation hierarchy which prioritises increased food utilisation and the reduction of food waste, followed by the redistribution of edible, nutritious surplus food for human consumption, and creation of secondary markets for surplus food, taking food safety into account; and
  • confidentially report our annual quantities of food waste and quantities diverted to food surplus redistribution, according to the agreed reporting protocol.

Our efforts will be focused on:

  • identifying food loss and waste arising in our operations and isolating the underlying causes;
  • ensuring that food safety is maintained at every level; and
  • building on our partnership with non-profit SA Harvest to redistribute edible surplus food to those in need.

We have an established partnership with the charitable organisation SA Harvest whose motto is ‘Rescuing Food, Fighting Hunger’. This relationship began during the COVID-19 pandemic where Famous Brands management worked closely with the organisation to re-distribute stock which our hibernated operations were not able to use. SA Harvest provides an outstanding service to needy local communities and we look forward to developing this mutually beneficial partnership.

The information pertains to our SA restaurant network unless otherwise specified.

Better for You awareness

With our customers’ health in mind and aligned to the Department of Health’s goal to combat obesity, our Leading brands run several initiatives to promote healthier eating. Our extensive meal offerings across our wide variety of brands cater for dietary restrictions, food allergies, intolerances and lifestyle choices.

All Leading brands’ menus:

  • showcase a “Better for You” offering;
  • offer vegetarian and/or vegan options;
  • differentiate between sugar soda versus sugar-free soda; the sugar-free option being cheaper; and
  • our TruFruit juice range’s new formulation complies with beverage sugar legislation.

In addition:

  • full nutritional guidelines, including a list of allergens, are provided on our Leading brands’ websites to enable customers to make informed choices; and
  • images of beverages on menus are of sugar-free varieties;
  • beverages containing sugar may be swopped out for bottled water at no extra cost at Steers;
  • Steers no longer promotes upselling, to disincentivise upsizing of meals;
  • all QSR brands (Steers, Debonairs Pizza and Fishaways) have full kilojoule counts on their menus;
  • Mugg & Bean On The Move menus had full kilojoule counts this April 2021.