{"id":852440,"date":"2026-03-08T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=852440"},"modified":"2026-03-06T17:24:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T15:24:29","slug":"10-local-brands-that-south-african-emigrants-miss-the-most","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/852440\/10-local-brands-that-south-african-emigrants-miss-the-most\/","title":{"rendered":"10 local brands that South African emigrants miss the most"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Many South Africans have left the country for pastures new, but they still miss things from home, including South African brands like Woolworths, Spur, Nik Naks, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The University of Cape Town\u2019s Liberty Institute of Strategic Marketing recently surveyed over 1,500 South Africans living in 73 countries for its South African Diaspora Report. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the report noted severe negatives about South Africa, including fears about crime, it also highlighted several positives that South Africans missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This included 72% of respondents stating that they missed South African brands, even with some access to them overseas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ten brands and products that South Africans miss include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Woolworths<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Biltong<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mrs Balls<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Spur<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ouma<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Steers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nik Naks<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Peppermint Crisp<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nandos (SA Version)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Appletiser<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Aside from brands, other things South Africans miss include their friends and relatives, as well as the climate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nearly 80% of respondents said that they missed people, friends, and family. &#8220;You can&#8217;t replace South African warmth,&#8221; the report said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>South Africa&#8217;s weather, open spaces and wildlife also featured highly, with \u201cSunshine that actually feels like sunshine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The majority of respondents come from highly educated, wealthy backgrounds, with 90% holding at least one tertiary qualification. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moreover, about 60% of those surveyed earned more than $100,000 (R1.6 million), and a further 20% more than $200,000 (R3.2 million). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The United Nations and Statistics South Africa\u2019s mid-year population estimates suggest more than 1 million South Africans live overseas. The UK, Australia, and the USA account for over half of the diaspora. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The main reason for leaving was South Africa&#8217;s high crime rate, with 46% citing it as a reason for leaving. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>32% wanted a better future for their children, 27% sought better jobs and careers, 19% wanted international experience, and 17% highlighted South Africa&#8217;s economic uncertainty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When expats would consider coming home<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a  data-lightbox=\"post-image\" href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Mrs-Balls-4.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Mrs-Balls-4-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-825781\" srcset=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Mrs-Balls-4-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Mrs-Balls-4-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Mrs-Balls-4-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Mrs-Balls-4.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Stats SA said that the number of South African expats returning home dropped by 40%, declining from<br>46,000 in 2011 to 27,000 in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The survey echoes this trend, with only 17% saying that they plan to return to South Africa. Another 40% were unsure, and 43% said that they will never return. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>South Africans living in Australia and New Zealand were least likely to return, with 66% and 70%, respectively, stating they would never return. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Expats most likely to return home were those who: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Left SA within the last three years<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Own property in SA<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Are either high or low earners<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Remit large amounts of money to SA<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Have children born in SA<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Are optimistic about SA\u2019s future<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Are more likely to feel homesick<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For other diaspora, returning to South Africa would depend on improving crime and safety, scrapping specific government policies like BEE, a stronger economy and improved infrastructure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>With reporting from Bloomberg<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are over 1 million South African emigrants across the world, but many still miss local brands not available overseas. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":753723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[7138],"class_list":["post-852440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-uct"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852440","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\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=852440"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":852542,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852440\/revisions\/852542"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/753723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=852440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=852440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=852440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}