The petrol station brand painting South Africa orange

Astron Energy has rebranded 300 Caltex service stations to its distinctive orange colours as part of a national rollout.

Astron Energy manages a retail network of over 800 sites across South Africa, making it the second-largest network in the country.

On Monday, 15 July 2024, Astron Energy celebrated rebranding 300 service station forecourts with the official opening of the Astron Energy Mageza Sweetwaters retail site.

Astron Energy has set its sights on rebranding 400 sites before the end of 2024. This will mark the halfway point in rebranding the Caltex network to Astron Energy.

It said its latest 300 service station rebranding milestone included over 27,000 hours that had been logged by teams on the ground.

“On average, 20 sites are rebranded to Astron Energy every month. There are 20 teams working around the country at any given time,” the company said.

Astron Energy’s general manager for retail sales and marketing, Farouk Farista, said they are the new kid on the block in terms of their brand.

He added that hitting the 300-site mark takes Astron Energy ahead of several other fuel brands, which have been around for much longer.

“We are the new kid on the block in terms of our brand, but our heritage in South Africa stretches back over a century,” he said.

“We are the new brand South Africans can trust for service excellence, quality and innovation in the retail space.”

According to Farista, the Astron Energy brand has been well received and has sparked interest from the community and retailers alike with its bold new look and offering.

Although the new orange petrol stations emerging across the country are new to many South Africans, Astron Energy has been around for a long time.

It entered South Africa in 2018 when Glencore purchased Chevron South Africa. Since then, it has been operating the Caltex brand through a license agreement with Chevron, which is set to expire in 2024.

In 2021, Astron Energy consolidated its operations under a single brand identity and announced the rebranding of over 850 Caltex service stations in South Africa and Botswana.

The rebranding included the refinery in Cape Town, lubricants manufacturing plant in Durban, 15 terminals, 180 commercial and industrial sites, and corporate facilities.

Astron Energy highlighted that the rebranding of Caltex to its new colours would take a few years.

Astron Energy CEO Thabiet Booley said this is an important step in the group’s ambition to become the biggest fuel brand in South Africa.

In September 2022, Astron Energy unveiled its first new-look petrol station in South Africa. It said it was the start of becoming “the next biggest fuel brand” in the country.

The company promised consumers clean bathrooms, proper lighting, and security, which were at the top of the list of things that make a great service station.

In July 2023, the company announced that it had rebranded 100 service stations as part of its large rebranding project.

“We have received a huge amount of interest from the public and potential investors and retailers who see potential in something fresh in market,” the company said.

Farouk Farista, general manager of retail sales and marketing for Astron Energy, said the company was rebranding service stations site by site.

In addition to its new brand, Astron Energy has extended its agreement with one of South Africa’s leading forecourt retail brands, FreshStop.

FreshStop is part of the Food Lover’s Market group of companies and has been operating forecourt retail at Caltex stations in South Africa for 15 years.

330 Astron Energy and Caltex service stations feature a FreshStop, which houses several on-the-go food offerings and Seattle Coffee outlets.

Across its 330 stores, FreshStop boasts Seattle Coffee Company outlets at 126, Crispy Chicken at 154, Grill-to-Go at 102, Fill A Kota at 42, Sausage Saloon at 22, and Manhattan Coffee at 23.