Business

The South African fast-food company that crushed Pizza Hut and Domino’s

Kirsten Minnaar • 12 November 2025

With over 700 restaurants across South Africa, Debonairs Pizza has managed to crush international fast-food giants like Pizza Hut and Domino’s.

Founded more than 30 years ago, Debonairs is a South African staple. The first store was opened in 1991 at the Park Lane Spar in Pietermaritzburg by two university students for only R6,000.

They were the first South African brand to offer efficient, free delivery. Adding a unique flair, Debonairs drivers also made deliveries wearing tuxedos and bow ties.

In 1996, Debonairs became a part of the Steers Group, which would later become Famous Brands, Africa’s leading branded food service company.

Today, Famous Brands owns major South African restaurant companies, including Wimpy, Mugg & Bean, Salsa, Fishaways and Turn ‘n Tender.

In 1997, Debonairs opened its first restaurant outside of South Africa in Manzini, Eswatini. By 1998, the business had opened its 60th store in Rivonia.

It also won the Franchisor of the Year award from the Franchisee Association of South Africa. The following year, Debonairs aired its very first TV commercial.

In 2005, Debonairs changed its slogan from “We deliver smartly” to “It’s the way you like it”. That same year, the restaurant opened its 200th store in Sandton, South Africa’s richest square mile.

The late 2000s marked a period of innovation for the brand. In 2008, Debonairs introduced its Triple-Decker, Crammed-Crust and Double-Stack pizzas, which are still part of its menu today.

In 2010, Deboanirs launched mobile and online ordering, a first for any pizza brand in Africa. It also introduced a small personal pizza to its menu.

A year later, the business again changed its slogan to “Try something amazing”. This slogan is still used by Debonairs today.

Debonairs opened its 600th restaurant in Botshabelo, in the Free State, in 2016 – 25 years after launching its first store.

The brand was also voted the third most loved fast-food brand in the Sunday Times Top Brands Awards, making it the number one pizza brand in the country.

By 2019, the business had moved from the third to the second most loved fast-food brand in the Sunday Times Top Brand awards. In 2020, Debonairs opened its 700th restaurant.

Crushing the competition

By the end of 2025, Debonairs had opened 868 restaurants across 16 markets, with 732 of these being in South Africa.

It is the biggest brand under Famous Brands’ portfolio in terms of footprint. It is followed by Steers, with 735 restaurants, and Wimpy, with 539 restaurants.

Debonairs is the second-largest fast-food franchise in South Africa, with only KFC having a greater footprint, with around 1,200 outlets in the country.

This means that not only is Debonairs bigger than local fast-food chains like Nando’s, Chicken Licken and Roman’s Pizza, but it is also bigger than international giants like McDonald’s and Burger King.

Even though other American pizza chains have tried to tap into South Africa’s market, they have not been able to reach the same level as Debonairs.

Pizza Hut has found a good level of success in South Africa, but it currently only has about 50 locations in the country.

Domino’s Pizza was much less successful. The company acquired and converted stores previously owned by Scooters Pizza, a local fast-food chain, during the 2010s.

However, by 2019, Taste Holdings, Domino’s holding company, announced that it was exiting its food businesses to focus on its luxury brands, such as NWJ and Arthur Kaplan.

Some of its other food businesses included Starbucks, Pizza Maxi’s, and The Fish & Chips Co. Following this decision, Taste proceeded to sell off its companies. Starbucks was sold to Rand Capital Coffee for R7 million.

Pizza Maxi’s and The Fish & Chips Co. were also sold off. Although Taste engaged with numerous potential buyers, it was unable to sell Domino’s.

“When Domino’s SA couldn’t find a sustainable buyer, Taste liquidated the food business in March 2020 and around 55 Domino’s stores shut, with assets later auctioned,” Scooters explained.

While other fast-food chains struggled to survive in South Africa, Debonairs has continued to grow consistently every year. To stay ahead, Famous Brands has continued to offer customers new products and promotions.

In its latest financial statement, the company stated that Debonairs Pizza strengthened its value offerings in 2025 in response to consumers seeking affordability.

“We offered Real Deal pizza meals and pizza wraps at a price point below R30 to attract new consumers and drive transactions. We also introduced chicken shots and wings as pizza accompaniments to boost transaction value,” the company said.

Debonairs also emphasised messaging around savings and implemented two minimal price increases to stay ahead of inflation. These strategies have made the brand remain relevant, even as consumers face affordability challenges.