Top food company opens 800 mini-stores in South Africa

Tiger Brands has rolled out 800 Albany Bread-On-The-Streets (BOTS) stands to expand its reach into the largely cash-based inner-city informal economy. 

This is part of the plan of South Africa’s largest food producer to increase its presence in the overlooked informal economy, estimated at R1 trillion. 

In 2023, the company announced plans to grow the visibility and availability of its brands through partnerships with 130,000 spaza shops. 

Tiger Brands owns household brand names in South Africa, including Koo, Oros, Ace Maize Meal, Black Cat, Albany, and Jungle Oats. 

The company has been planning to expand into the sector since 2020, with research indicating that, at times, only 27% of its products are available at the lower end of the market.

Its latest initiative aims to expand Albany’s presence in the cash-based economy through its BOTS stands, which operate like mini-stores. 

BOTS are branded mobile bread stands located in high-footfall areas such as taxi ranks and bus stations in South Africa’s inner cities.

Tiger Brands said this brings Albany bread closer to consumers, improving availability and ensuring freshness. 

It also helps the company compete in a highly competitive bread market, which is known for its razor-thin margins and immense scale. 

Tiger Brands has invested in building “super bakeries” in Gauteng and the Western Cape to leverage economies of scale. 

These super bakeries are set to be the lowest-cost producers of bread in South Africa and will replace five older, less efficient bakeries. 

The company estimates the super bakery in Gauteng will reduce conversion costs by 50% and eliminate R250 million in overhead expenses annually. 

Its Gauteng super bakery will produce 12,000 loaves of bread an hour at full capacity. 

Coupled with the new super bakeries, the BOTS are expected to put Albany on the front foot in South Africa’s bread market. 

Tiger Brands said that 800 BOTS stands are operational and are run by 800 entrepreneurs across South Africa. It aims to have 3,000 stands operating. 

The company aims to ensure its products are readily available to shoppers in the informal sector. 

To drive demand in the informal market, the company said it will increase its advertising with branded fittings and fixtures in stores, as well as murals and paintings on the outside of the stores. 

Another example of this is the provision of fridges so the shops can sell cold Energade and Oros ready-to-drink juices.

This follows the playbook of Coca-Cola and South African Breweries, which have successfully penetrated the informal market. 

Albany Bread-On-The-Streets stand photos