{"id":728363,"date":"2023-11-01T17:03:40","date_gmt":"2023-11-01T15:03:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=728363"},"modified":"2023-11-01T17:08:52","modified_gmt":"2023-11-01T15:08:52","slug":"these-are-the-most-popular-fast-food-chains-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/728363\/these-are-the-most-popular-fast-food-chains-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"These are the most popular fast food chains in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fast food and takeaways are booming in South Africa, with KFC the preferred destination for South African consumers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to research from Eighty20, restaurants and coffee stores have struggled since the Covid-19 pandemic began, with a 22% drop in revenue (at constant prices) from 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whereas the takeaway and fast food category saw a massive ost-covid recovery and is now 41% higher than the 2019 levels (at contact prices). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Despite South Africa\u2019s current economic woes, these categories have shown consistent growth over the last 3 years since Covid. However, this growth has stalled for restaurants over recent months, with July and August showing more than a 4% contraction year-on-year (at constant prices),” Eighty20 said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Fast food, on the other hand, has continued to grow in real terms. The fast-food category was a third of the size of the restaurant category pre-Covid, but now it is more than two-thirds \u2013 showing just how much consumers\u2019 purchasing behaviour has changed.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eighty20’s MAPS data highlights this trend, with the number of people who haven’t personally bought food from a Fast Food\/Casual Dining outlet over the last four weeks declining from 9% of the adult population in 2022 to 7.4% in 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Older and wealthier South Africans have largely been responsible for this increase – low-income, humble elders (69% growth) and comfortable retirees (222% growth). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Mass Credit Market and Middle-Class segments have been particularly hit by recent economic pressure and have thus shown the least growth,\u201d said Andrew Fulton, Director at Eighty20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Growth from lower income segments is reflected by the increase in a number of the smaller \u2018value\u2019 chain fast food outlets such as Pedro\u2019s and Honchos.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most popular <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When looking at fast food and quick-service restaurant outlets, there are some mixed trends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

KFC has seen a drop in popularity over the last year despite retaining its title. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same is true of the other medalists – Chicken Licken and Debonairs – who have seen decreases in their popularity over the last year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whereas McDonald’s (4th), Spur (6th), Nando’s (7th), and Wimpy (10th) saw an increase. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Source: Eighty20<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cChicken, burgers, and pizza make up an estimated two-thirds of all fast food spend, with chicken dominating fast food preferences in South Africa. The top 10 list of fast-food outlets, according to MAPS 2023 has one pizza restaurant, three burger joints and four chicken eateries,\u201d said Fulton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

KFC is still comfortably the biggest fast-food chain, with more than a quarter of respondents saying that they had purchased from KFC over the last four weeks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The experts said that it is interesting that casual dining brands have fared so well in comparison with their fast food peers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SpurCorp saw its revenue grow by 27.4% in FY23, while Famous Brands – the owner of Steers and Wimpy – grew revenue by 10% <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Debonairs, Wimpy and Steers owner strains as SA households come under pressure<\/a><\/blockquote>