{"id":797575,"date":"2024-11-02T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-02T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=797575"},"modified":"2024-11-01T16:12:57","modified_gmt":"2024-11-01T14:12:57","slug":"the-best-fast-food-chains-for-plant-based-food-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/797575\/the-best-fast-food-chains-for-plant-based-food-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"The best fast food chains for plant-based food in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>For the first time in the three years since the induction of the ranking, Simply Asia has taken the top spot as the most Plant-Based-Friendly fast-food franchise in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/proveg.com\/za\/sdc_download\/10437\/?key=v7exavb7brshs2kapphujcnhc7yfba\">2024 ProVeg South Africa Plant-Based-Friendly Fast-Food Franchise-Ranking<\/a>, which mapped and positioned popular chains according to the prevalence of their veggie options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In recent years,&nbsp;South Africa\u2019s&nbsp;food landscape has undergone some significant transformations as more individuals ditch meat to embrace&nbsp;plant-based and vegan diets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Research&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/proveg.com\/za\/sdc_download\/9976\/?key=rcxa96fibk1xlbpon1dbgia1ljnunb\">by ProVeg<\/a>&nbsp;shows that this market is budding locally, with vegan, vegetarian and \u2018flexitarian\u2019 consumers making up between 10% and 12% of the South African consumer base as of 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The plant-based alternatives sector is indeed making notable strides. The 34% sales increase from 2019 to 2023, reaching R382.76 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This growth could be attributed to various factors, including health trends, environmental concerns, and changing dietary preferences. While still smaller than the traditional animal-based market, this upward trajectory suggests a promising future for plant-based products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As such, many, including that in the fast-food sector, are increasing their plant-based offerings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The third annual report indicates a continued rise in plant-based options, coinciding with a 41% increase in the national fast-food industry&#8217;s turnover since 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Despite a challenging market environment, both in the food space generally and in the plant-based food sector specifically, there remain significant avenues for quick service restaurants to profit from opportunities created by the continued interest in plant-based offerings,&#8221; said Donovan Will, director at ProVeg South Africa<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;These include attracting new customers, increasing the spend of existing customers, and highlighting commitments towards improving the health and sustainability of their ranges,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>The ranking<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 2024 ProVeg South Africa Plant-Based-Friendly Fast-Food Franchise Ranking evaluated 26 Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) based on the variety and percentage of plant-based options on their menus, along with the presentation, labeling, and positioning of those items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Simply Asia<\/strong> took the top spot with a score of 19.8, moving up from second place in 2023. The franchise offers a variety of plant-based options across different meal categories and scored high in menu labeling and presentation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Kauai<\/strong> ranked second with 18 points, praised for its range of plant-based breakfasts, warm bowls, salads, wraps, and smoothies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Panarottis<\/strong> maintained its third-place position with 14.3 points. It was recognized for offering a variety of plant-based pizzas, pasta dishes, and side dishes that incorporate meat analogs and vegan cheese.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Nando&#8217;s<\/strong> placed fourth with 13.2 points. It offers both plant-based meat alternatives in its \u201cGreat Pretender\u201d range, and vegetable-focused options. However, some menu items in the \u201cGreat Pretender\u201d range include animal products, and their &#8220;veg&#8221; range is primarily vegetarian. <strong>It is important to note that Nando&#8217;s discontinued the &#8220;Great Pretender&#8221; range after the scoring for the 2024 ranking was finalised<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Spur<\/strong> rounded out the top five with 9.9 points, moving up from sixth place in 2023. Spur was commended for integrating plant-based items into its main menu, using appealing descriptions, and introducing a new Vegan-Friendly Breakfast.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The full ranking is:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a  data-lightbox=\"post-image\" href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/image-120.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"593\" height=\"812\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/image-120.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-797723\" style=\"width:721px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/image-120.png 593w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/image-120-219x300.png 219w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 593px) 100vw, 593px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Overall, key findings include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Mains<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>55 plant-based main dishes were offered, a 1.9% increase from 2023, but only 4.9% of all mains available.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>54% of QSRs (14 out of 26) lack any plant-based main courses, highlighting a growth opportunity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sides<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Plant-based side dishes grew to 84 options, a 6.3% increase, making up 23.7% of all sides.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Desserts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Only nine plant-based dessert options were available, just 6.3% of all desserts, with 24 QSRs offering none.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional Insights<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Consumer awareness is low regarding existing plant-based offerings, indicating a need for targeted marketing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There are opportunities for suppliers to create high-quality plant-based products, especially seafood alternatives, non-crumbed chicken, plant-based cheese, ice cream, and sauces.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>ProVeg said that while plant-based sides have grown, mains and desserts remain limited, underscoring the need for improvement to meet rising demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Overall, ProVeg said that this report &#8220;highlights the continued growth of plant-based menu options in the fast-food industry in South Africa.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Several popular brand chains have retained superior plant-based options while continuing to innovate and add new and exciting options to their menus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Through the ranking process, we\u2019ve identified numerous opportunities for both QSRs and manufacturers [which] include main-menu expansion, plant-based desserts, menu item highlighting healthy options and carbon footprints, menu item positioning, and increased menu visibility of high-quality plant-based alternatives that can be substituted for meat in multiple meals,&#8221; said ProVeg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The company said that jumping on this opportunity can prove incredibly lucrative for these businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/785760\/the-rise-of-veganism-in-south-africa\/\">The rise of veganism in South Africa<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A different franchise has topped the 2024 ProVeg South Africa Plant-Based-Friendly Fast-Food Ranking, reflecting the growing demand for plant-based options.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":797761,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[20351],"class_list":["post-797575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-proveg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=797575"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":798331,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797575\/revisions\/798331"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/797761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=797575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=797575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=797575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}