{"id":863512,"date":"2026-06-16T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=863512"},"modified":"2026-06-15T16:26:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T14:26:44","slug":"big-threat-to-mcdonalds-and-kfc-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/863512\/big-threat-to-mcdonalds-and-kfc-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Big threat to McDonald’s and KFC in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Weight-loss and diabetes medicines such as Ozempic are changing consumer behaviour in South Africa, creating a new challenge for fast-food giants like McDonald’s and KFC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Discovery Bank and Visa\u2019s latest SpendTrend26 report<\/a>, the growing popularity of GLP-1 medicines is already influencing what South Africans buy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The report noted that South Africans have spent less on takeaways, restaurants and even groceries as they adopt healthier lifestyles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report is based on an analysis of more than 2.6 billion transactions across 12 million credit cards over the past year, combined with Discovery Bank client data and a survey of 1,000 consumers earning more than R100,000 annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GLP-1 medicines, which include brands such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, were originally developed to treat diabetes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, they have become increasingly popular as weight-loss treatments, with usage volumes rising significantly over the past five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The growing use of GLP-1 medicines is beginning to affect consumer spending patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the United States, where these treatments are more widely used, consumers reduce fast-food spending by about 8% within six months of starting treatment. Grocery spending also declines, although by a smaller margin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The impact is particularly significant among higher-income households, which are both the primary users of GLP-1 medicines and among the biggest spenders on fast food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discovery Bank\u2019s data showed a similar trend is emerging in South Africa. Most respondents using GLP-1 medicines reported spending more on healthier foods, particularly vegetables and grains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, 48% said they are spending less on takeaways and restaurants, while nearly half reported spending less on alcohol. Another 38% said they are spending less on groceries overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The findings come as consumer research company Eighty20 has already identified changing eating habits among South Africans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the number of people dining out has remained relatively stable, they are doing so less frequently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eighty20 director Andrew Fulton noted that consumers are increasingly favouring affordable protein options, particularly chicken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, traditional burger-focused chains such as McDonald\u2019s, Wimpy and Steers have lost some ground in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surge in GLP-1 medicines <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Discovery\u2019s report found that 16% of surveyed South Africans had spent money on weight-loss support through dietitian programmes or weight-loss clinics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The increase in demand has also led to the rapid growth of compounded GLP-1 medicines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an interview with Moneyweb Radio<\/a>, Charles Green, a healthcare and pharmaceutical expert at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH), said the global boom in drugs such as Ozempic has created a lucrative new market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Green, compounded GLP-1 medicines have experienced a massive increase in popularity amongst consumers worldwide, with demand often exceeding available supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, he warned that regulators are increasingly concerned about patient safety. \u201cThe concern, and I think the main concern with compounded GLP-1s, is that they are not actually assessed or tested by the regulator, the applicable regulators,\u201d Green said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained that, unlike registered medicines, compounded products are not approved by regulators such as the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Green noted that many consumers incorrectly assume compounded medicines are simply cheaper versions of approved products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat is an assumption many people make,\u201d he said, explaining that generic medicines still require regulatory approval and testing, while compounded medicines serve a different purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCompounding medicine is different. It serves a different purpose,\u201d Green said. He explained that compounded medicines are intended to address temporary shortages of registered products and are not themselves registered by SAHPRA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Weight-loss and diabetes medicines are a threat to fast-food giants like McDonald’s and KFC in South Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":863515,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[21974,12923,17573,9399,853],"class_list":["post-863512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-cliffe-dekker-hofmeyr-cdh","tag-discovery-bank","tag-eighty20","tag-fast-food","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863512","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=863512"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863512\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":863544,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863512\/revisions\/863544"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/863515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=863512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=863512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=863512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}