{"id":862252,"date":"2026-06-02T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=862252"},"modified":"2026-06-02T15:53:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T13:53:29","slug":"bad-news-for-burger-lovers-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/862252\/bad-news-for-burger-lovers-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Bad news for burger lovers in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

New data shares bad news for burger lovers in South Africa, with the cost of a burger rising much faster than overall inflation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Big Mac has risen from R7 in 1995 to R70.90 today, with burger prices surging 30% in the past year alone due to soaring beef costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When McDonald\u2019s opened its first restaurant in South Africa in November 1995 in Blackheath, Johannesburg, a Big Mac cost just R7.00. Today, South Africans can expect to pay R70.90 for the same burger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to Kaya Biz<\/a>, Eighty20 director Andrew Fulton said it shows just how sharply food prices have increased over the past three decades. However, the most notable increase has occurred over the past year alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research and data consultancy firm Eighty20 found that meat products\u2014particularly beef\u2014have consistently ranked among the country’s highest inflation items over the past year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eighty20 used data from the National All Media and Products Survey (MAPS), which surveys around 20,000 South Africans every quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery month for the past year, at least half of the top 10 highest inflation items have been meat products, primarily beef, with chicken really far behind,\u201d Fulton said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To illustrate the impact, Eighty20 looked at the cost of a typical burger and found that prices have surged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople look at the Big Mac index. It\u2019s obviously a very prominent meal that people have. A Big Mac cost you R55 this time last year and costs you almost R71 today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a 30% increase in just a year when you\u2019ve got inflation running at sort of 4%. So you can see that burger inflation is a big thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Fulton, nearly every component of a burger has become more expensive. \u201cThe bun is up 5.5% year on year, lettuce is up 10% year on year, tomatoes are up 11% year on year, and cheddar cheese, if you want a cheeseburger, is up 10%.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cost of beef is changing how South Africans spend<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Eighty20 director Andrew Fulton<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

However, he added that the really big one is the patty, which is up 23.8% year on year, primarily because we\u2019ve had the worst outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease we\u2019ve had in decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCattle and dairy herds across nine provinces are affected, and there\u2019s been a 25% drop in meat exports in South Africa. It really has quite decimated that industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rising cost of beef is also changing how South Africans spend their money on fast food. Fulton said Eighty20\u2019s data shows that fewer people are eating at quick-service restaurants as frequently as they did a year ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consumers in South Africa are also shifting towards more affordable proteins and meal options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we saw is chicken-focused brands like Hungry Lion, Pedro\u2019s and Nando\u2019s, alongside the pizza chains, have gained ground,\u201d Fulton said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut for the burger places, McDonald\u2019s, Wimpy and Steers have lost ground over the past year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fulton warned that relief is unlikely anytime soon. He noted that recent fuel price increases and broader inflationary pressures are expected to push food costs even higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re paying 30% more to eat a burger out than we did last year. I can\u2019t imagine it\u2019s going to go down next year.\u201d Even making burgers at home has become significantly more expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe price of making that burger at home has gone up 10.4%. Even the petrol to go get the patty is up. South Africans are just getting kicked from all sides right now,\u201d Fulton said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As consumers come under greater pressure, Fulton expects restaurants to focus more heavily on affordability and convenience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to see people trading down to smaller meals, more value meals, and eating more at home,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFamous Brands is looking at smaller-format restaurants and drive-throughs, looking more for value and convenience.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New data shares that the cost of a single burger has increased by R64 in the last three decades in South Africa\u2014far outstripping inflation. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":862253,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[3559,17573,853],"class_list":["post-862252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-big-mac-index","tag-eighty20","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862252","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\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=862252"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":862255,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862252\/revisions\/862255"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/862253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}