{"id":849687,"date":"2026-02-08T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=849687"},"modified":"2026-02-06T18:31:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T16:31:39","slug":"store-much-cheaper-than-pick-n-pay-and-checkers-reveals-big-plans-for-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/849687\/store-much-cheaper-than-pick-n-pay-and-checkers-reveals-big-plans-for-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Store much cheaper than Pick n Pay and Checkers reveals big plans for South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Discount grocery retailer Best Before has shared big plans for the brand after launching nationwide courier delivery, expanding beyond its previous Gauteng-only online service, with products priced lower than those of Checkers and Pick n Pay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Before sells short-dated and past-dated items that are still safe to use and consume, at significantly discounted prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although products are sold close to or past their best-before date, the retailer confirmed that products are only sold from reputable suppliers and never past their use-by date. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery item is vetted for safety and quality, so you can shop with confidence,\u201d said Best Before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Before was founded in 2017 by entrepreneurs Mark Gordon and Alain Soriano, who sought to bring the success of clearance stores seen in Australia and Europe to South Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After noticing the market for affordable everyday products in South Africa, the founders launched a pilot store in Wendywood, Sandton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The success of the first store led to the launch of stores in Edenvale, Fourways, Northcliff, Krugersdorp, Boksburg, Centurion and Pretoria. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The response that we are getting is incredible. We get about 60 emails a week asking us to open stores in various cities across South Africa,” said Best Before Founder and Director Mark Gordon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Before, which aims to reduce food waste and deliver the lowest cost to the consumer, uses a replenishment model, where 70% of the stock is regular merchandise, but the price is 25% cheaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The other 30% of stock is excess from other suppliers, which Best Before buys at a discount to offer the lowest price to consumers,” said Gordon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith more stores in the pipeline, we\u2019re now expanding into online shopping and convenient in-store collection points across all Best Before locations,\u201d the retailer said. <\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there are no immediate plans to open more stores, the retailer is looking at possible launches later in the year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Right now, we are Gauteng-based to make sure that our model works and is perfected in order for it to expand,” said Gordon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new delivery trial<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The introduction of Best Before’s nationwide courier delivery service at the close of 2025 represents a major achievement for the retailer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This development allows residents in other provinces to access their products, even if they do not have a physical store nearby. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, average delivery fees range from R80 to R100, depending on the courier company selected, and delivery can take between two and five working days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orders placed online take five working days to prepare, and payment can be made via EFT, SnapScan, Payfast, and all major debit and credit cards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Gordon confirmed its recent onboarding with Uber, with the first trial set to launch in the Fourways area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the trial is successful, Best Before will expand its Uber Eats delivery services for its products in more areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most notably, Gordon said Uber will not charge higher fees on the retailer’s products\u2014the price in store will be the same as on Uber Eats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uber Eats\u2019 delivery fee varies from R6.00 to R20.00, depending on the distance between the outlet and the delivery address, this is excluding additional levies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Major South African grocery retailers offer comparable delivery services. Checkers charges R36, delivers within 60 minutes of order placement, and limits orders to 40 items. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woolworths allows up to 35 food items, charges a R45 fee, and requires a minimum order of R150 for customers within 5km of a designated store. Pick n Pay’s service is priced at R35, has a 45-item limit, and promises delivery within 60 minutes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Gordon explicitly stated that the business does not aim to compete with major grocery retailers, BusinessTech compared potential delivery fees with Best Before entering the delivery service market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Best Before implements its delivery services through the Uber Eats platform, customers can expect to pay Uber’s delivery fees, along with other potential levies, such as service charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below is a glance at how Best Before’s delivery could look in the future if the trial with Uber goes to plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/th>Delivery fee <\/th>Delivery time (minutes)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Woolworths<\/strong><\/td>R45<\/td>60<\/td><\/tr>
Checkers<\/strong><\/td>R36<\/td>60<\/td><\/tr>
Pick n Pay<\/strong><\/td>R35<\/td>60<\/td><\/tr>
Best Before<\/strong><\/td>R6 – R20 (excluding levies)<\/td>20 – 45<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

More photos of Best Before <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Best Before has launched nationwide courier delivery, expanding beyond its previously Gauteng-only online service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":849809,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[20629,20752,1210],"class_list":["post-849687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-best-before","tag-mark-gordon","tag-retail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849687","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\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849687"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849687\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":849822,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849687\/revisions\/849822"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/849809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}