Big development for South African food store cheaper than Pick n Pay and Checkers

Best Before, which offers food and personal care products at lower prices than Checkers and Pick n Pay, has increased its product range through unique imports.

The retailer, founded by Mark Gordon and Alain Soriano in 2017, offers lower prices than other retailers by selling short and past-dated products.

Although these products are past their best-before date, they are safe to use as they remain within their use-by date.

The best-before date on most items estimates how long a product will remain at optimal quality, not whether it is safe to use.

To give shoppers peace of mind, it said it would refund any product bought in its stores if the client was not satisfied with their purchase.

Best Before buys large quantities of products from trusted and reputable suppliers around their best-before date, which gives them great discounts.

These discounts are passed on to consumers, enabling the retailer to undercut Checkers, Pick n Pay, Spar, and Shoprite.

The business model proved very popular in South Africa, where many consumers and households are cash-strapped.

Over the last seven years, Best Before grew from one store in Wendywood, Sandton, to six stores in Johannesburg and one in Pretoria.

The Best Before stores are based in Boksburg, Sandton, Edenvale, Fourways, Northcliff, Krugersdorp, and the Atterbury Lifestyle Centre in Pretoria.

The company also offers online shopping for customers in Gauteng, with plans to expand it to other provinces around South Africa.

In a recent development, Best Before announced the introduction of a new selection of imports in its stores.

“As a first in South Africa, we are proud to introduce these innovative products to our customers,” it said.

The new products include many prominent brands, including Mountain Dew, Oshee, Cote D’Or, Toblerone, Hershey’s, Bokomo, Caffelux, Willards, Koo, Robertsons, and Labelo.

The price cuts on these products are significant, as shown in the table below.