South African food store promises 43% cheaper prices than Pick n Pay and Checkers

Best Before, a retailer specialising in discounted short-dated and past-best-before goods, promises savings of between 28% and 43% compared to traditional retailers.

Best Before was founded by Mark Gordon and Alain Soriano in 2017. It sells short-dated and past-dated food and personal care products.

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

It buys large quantities of products around their best-before date, which it gets at great discounts. These discounts are then passed on to consumers.

The products on Best Before’s shelves come from trusted and reputable suppliers, including Cadbury, Toblerone, Cook n Bake, and All Gold.

It also stocks products from popular brands like Clover, Bakers, Halls, Game, Black Cat, Craft, Nescafe, Pepsi, and Anat.

Best Before recently introduced a selection of unique imports. These new offerings include brands such as Mountain Dew, Côte d’Or, Hershey’s, Bokomo, Willards, Koo, and Labello.

The retailer said it has stringent quality control measures to ensure the products are safe and offers a refund for products that do not meet customer satisfaction.

Gordon and Soriano’s first Best Before store in Wendywood, Sandton, was so successful that they opened numerous new outlets.

The retailer now has stores in Boksburg, Edenvale, Fourways, Northcliff, Krugersdorp, and the Atterbury Lifestyle Centre in Pretoria.

Soriano said there is great demand for its offering, and they have plans to open new Best Before stores every year.

The initial focus is on large cities. However, they have plans to have a presence in most regions of South Africa, including smaller towns.

Best Before offers online shopping for Gauteng residents and plans to expand its eCommerce service to other provinces across South Africa.

The retailer is actively expanding its product range and is keen to partner with suppliers with excess stock to build long-term relationships.

Promises of big discounts

South Africa’s retail sector is highly competitive, with powerful companies like Shoprite, Spar, and Pick n Pay battling for market share.

These companies have retail brands which offer discounted goods, including the Pick n Pay-owned Boxer, Shoprite, and Usave.

Many South African households struggle to make ends meet, which means affordability is one of the main differentiators for local retailers.

Usave’s payoff line, for example, is “No one is cheaper”. This claim is based on an independent audit of 100 of South Africa’s favourite products.

Best Before also claims to be the cheapest, promising savings of between 28% and 43% compared to traditional retailers.

The company launches weekly deals on a range of products, which it distributes to clients through its newsletter.

It then tells clients how much they would save if they bought each item in the newsletter at Best Before versus a traditional supermarket.

The promised saving was 35% on 20 March 2025. It was 34% on 27 March, 43% on 3 April, 32% on 10 April, and 28% on 16 April.

The retailer claims to offer the best bang for people’s buck and make the unaffordable affordable in South Africa.

The image below provides an overview of Best Before’s claimed discounts when compared to traditional South African retailers.

Inside a Best Before store