Being ahead of the trends curve is vital in today’s cut-throat food business – so hat’s off to FASA member Col’Cacchio on launching their cannabis pizza range!

Italian-inspired restaurant franchise Col’Cacchio and CBD brand africanpure have joined their respective expertise to introduce South Africa’s very first Cannabis pizza range. Following the landmark announcement in recent weeks by the Department of Health, all products that contain a maximum daily dose of 20mg of Cannabidiol (CBD) and are intended for general health enhancement or relief are exempted from the operation of the schedules to the Medicines Act and may now be legally purchased in SA.

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Love watching those cooking competitions that not only pit professional chefs against each other but also amateur cooks, families and even children? Well, our very own Spur Steak Ranch has come up with an exciting cooking event.

Working with unique South African flavour combinations, experimenting with different ingredients, measurements and cooking styles, but most of all family fun, were the highlights at the Secret Tribe Chief Cook competition recently held at Silwood School of Cookery in Rondebosch, Cape Town.

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Based on the theory that in hard times consumers will still buy luxury goods even if there is a crisis, the lipstick effect sees women, for example, instead of buying expensive treatments or clothes, settle for their favourite lipstick or luxury perfume.

Capitalising on that global theory, the Health, Beauty & Body sector in South Africa contributes 6% to the ‘franchise pie’ and with 74% of franchises owned by women, this sector continues to perform well despite the struggling economy.

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OBC Chicken & Meat was one of the companies that made their submission to the Competition Commission on the power wielded by the major national supermarket chains over enforcing exclusive provisions in their lease agreements against challenger retailers and speciality stores. It welcomes the preliminary findings and will be submitting its comments to the Commission.

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In the current economic climate of belt-tightening and price wars, the Sorbet salon group saw sales jump 19% in the past year, reaching R100 million for the first time with trading profit rocketing by 74%. They also announced the anticipated opening of the new Sorbet SK-N.

The hum about town over the past six months was on a new Sorbet Group concept, set to grace South African skin. The rumours were true as loyal Sorbet guests grew excited by the day in anticipation of a first in beauty aesthetics for Sorbet – Sorbet SK-N!

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Walk through the popular Springs Mall food court on any given day and you will be attracted to the bright red and orange Chicken Xpress outlet and the queues of people waiting for their taste of a truly South African brand whose values are firmly based around the local community. There you will spot dynamic husband and wife team Perri and Lea making sure that every customer gets the 5-star Chicken Xpress treatment. These enthusiastic franchisees opened their first store in KwaThema in 2018, and their 2nd store in the bustling Springs Mall has proved a great success. “Since we opened we have had some amazing trade flowing through the doors and a great reception from the centre and the surrounding area.”

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Franchising, in these tough times, calls for both the franchisor and its franchisees to work together to weather the economic storm. FASA member Signarama shows how a combination of new marketing initiatives from their side and franchisees willing to invest in growing their businesses can pay dividends.

Positive news emerging from the Signarama franchise is that the group has increased turnover by 10,5% in Q1 in 2019. The encouraging start to the year is as a result of several new marketing initiatives being implemented, as well as several franchisees investing in new equipment which has allowed them to increase their product offering and profitability.

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The OBC Group which operates over 50 stores in South Africa opened its first store on foreign soil in the Nhlangano district of the Kingdom of Eswatini.

Small wonder, then, that well before 07:00 AM on the day of the grand opening on the 15th March, a throng of shoppers had formed outside the store. Besides wanting to get their hands on some of the exciting opening specials on offer, the OBC’s brand had an established following in Eswatini even before its arrival in the country as many of the locals had visited South Africa or had even lived here for a period and knew the brand. They were excited that they now can shop at an OBC store at their own doorstep.

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The Signarama Franchise recently celebrated the graduation of several new franchisees who received comprehensive training as part of their induction into the franchise group.

With a pedigree going back to 1969, Multiserv is one of South Africa’s earliest businesses in the personal services sector with their Shoe Repair, Key Cutting, shoe/leather care products, Self-hire carpet cleaning and apparel services, having originally launched under the store name of Cuthbert’s – a well-known chain of shoe stores at the time.

Owned by Amrel, Multiserv, between 1981 and until 1996, had over 300 outlets, with most OK Bazaars stores having Multiserv inside as a service counter – a result of OK Bazaars being part of SAB. When OK Bazaars was purchased from SAB by Shoprite/Checkers in 1985, resulting in Multiserv being given 6 months to remove all 145 stores, management orchestrated a buy-out and the business was developed into a successful franchise brand. At a time when the franchise focus was primarily on fast food and restaurant concepts, Multiserv was ideally suited to franchising as it was a well-established brand name and was the largest Shoe Repair and Key Cutting operation in South Africa.

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