The biggest fast food franchises in South Africa in 2024

South Africans have a particular fondness of fast food, with numerous franchises booming across the country – but Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) continues to be the most abundant in the country by some margin.

Despite the many challenges faced by businesses in South Africa, the fast-food industry has seen notable growth as it continues to turn to takeaways.

According to Insight Survey’s latest SA fast food/QSR Industry Landscape Report 2024, the South African fast food industry continued to show substantial growth in 2023, demonstrated by a strong increase of 8.7% between 2022 and 2023.

“This strong growth is expected to continue, with an expected CAGR of 8.0%, between 2024 and 2028, driven by influencer marketing efforts, loyalty programmes and initiatives, and the presence of a now diminished, although ever-present threat, of ongoing loadshedding in the country,” said Insight Survey.

As such, South Africans are spoilt for choice when it comes to purchasing a hot meal served almost instantaneously, with approximately 5,983 fast food restaurants nationwide.

The top three provinces with the most fast food restaurants are Gauteng with 3,047, KwaZulu-Natal with 834, and the Western Cape with 515. 

Property Sector Strategist at FNB Commercial Property Finance, John Loos, told 702’s The Money Show that he ascribes this shift from traditional sit-down restaurants to takeaways to convenience, speed, and greater affordability, among others.

A study conducted by Discovery Bank and Visa showed that South Africans post-pandemic are eating out more across all income segments and regions, and this trend increased alongside the rise of load shedding stages.

The sector is expected to have revenue reach R90 billion by 2026 as, according to consumer insights and data science firm Eighty20, one out of every two adult South Africans – totalling 23.4 million people – purchased fast food in the past year.

The escalation of the prevalence of fast food franchises in South Africa can be attributed to the ever-increasing value of the global fast food market, which Insight Survey estimates to be worth $901.8 billion in 2024 and forecasted to reach $1.23 trillion by 2032.

McDonald’s remains the most valuable global fast food brand in 2024 by a large margin, achieving a brand value of $221.9 billion (R3.82 trillion), with Starbucks coming in second at $69.6 billion (R1.19 trillion) and then KFC at $24.6 billion (R423.1 billion).

Popular fast food brands in South Africa

While McDonald’s continues to sport market dominance globally, South Africa’s largest fast food franchises tell a different story.

South Africa’s love for chicken is clear as Yum! Brands’ KFC holds approximately 1/4 of the fast food market by sales in the country.

When considering the most prominent brands based on store numbers, KFC is still on top, with 1,057 outlets across South Africa – up from 925 stores measured a year ago.

Famous Brands’ Debonairs Pizza, Steers, and Wimpy all beat out McDonald’s in terms of pure store numbers, with 710, 652, and 458 outlets, respectively.

This is then followed by McDonald’s, with 377 stores.

Nando’s has 302 outlets across South Africa, followed by Chicken Licken at 286, Roman’s Pizza at 250, Fishaways at 242, Hungry Lion at 204, Kauai at 200, and Burger King at 130.

Consumer insights and data science firm Eighty20 recently did research as to the most popular franchises in the country, saying that “approximately 20 million [people] dined at a fast food outlet [in South Africa] in the past month.”

“Notably, 90% of these 20 million individuals chose to eat at one of the top 10 fast food outlets.”

“Collectively, 16.3 million people have eaten from 5 fast food outlets (KFC, Chicken Licken, McDonald’s, Debonairs and Hungry Lion) in the past month, which is higher than the 16.2 million South Africans who voted in the recent election,” said Eighty20.

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