Retail

The fast-food company taking over South Africa

Kirsten Minnaar • 15 April 2025

Chicken franchise Pedros recently opened a new drive-through location at a BP forecourt, marking the launch of a strategic partnership between the two fast food and fuel giants.

This new storefront, which can be found at BP Jean Avenue in Centurion, is perfectly positioned to benefit from South Africa’s non-fuel retail sector, which has shown impressive growth prospects.

Recently, Nedbank and its research partner, Trade Intelligence, revealed that forecourt retail is booming worldwide and in South Africa.

Nedbank national retail services manager Karen Keylock explained that global forecourt value is expected to increase by 36% to $30 billion (R565 billion) in 2030.

According to Lightstone data from 2025, South Africans visit fuel forecourts an average of 7 times a month.

Notably, few of those visits are for refuelling. Trade Intelligence explained that 74% of visitors shop at the grocery store, 68% buy takeaways, and many use ATMs and grab a coffee on the go.

To take advantage of this forecourt marketplace, collaborations between fuel companies and retailers have become increasingly popular over the past few years.

For example, FreshStop, which falls under the Food Lover’s Market group, has a partnership with Astron Energy and operates at over 330 of its service stations.

Engen also has partnerships with Quickshop, Cafe365, Brazmata, Woolworths Foodstop, Wimpy, Steers, Debonairs, and Krispy Kreme.

Collaborations between fuel companies and financial service providers have also become commonplace.

For example, Shell offers Discovery Insure, Capitec and V+ rewards, while Engen offers eBucks and Clicks Clubcard benefits.

As a fast-food and petrol station collaboration, BP and Pedros are in an ideal position to benefit from the popularity of forecourts.

“We are delighted to welcome Pedros to our network of quick-service restaurant partners,” said GM for mobility & convenience at BPSA, Nokwanda Khumalo.

“This exciting partnership underscores BPSA’s commitment to innovation and customer-centricity.”

Pedros

Khumalo said Pedros fits in perfectly with BP’s plans to redefine convenience by expanding the range of offerings on our forecourts.

“In the past few years, we have been deliberate with efforts to provide customers on the move with a greater choice of quality food and coffee at a convenient network of roadside locations,” she said.

Khumalo explained that BP is evolving its forecourts into safe and convenient ‘one-stop’ destinations where motorists can seamlessly refuel, refresh, and relax.

“Strategic partnerships like this one at key locations are central to our goal of creating a holistic and compelling customer experience,” she said.

“Our commitment includes expanding our convenience offering with more outlets planned for high-visibility sites on major routes and busy intersections nationwide in the coming years.”

The energy company recently enhanced its forecourt offering by revitalizing its BP Express shop and launching its proprietary BP Rewards loyalty programme in partnership with Pick ‘n Pay.

This enables customers to earn cashback rewards by swiping both their BP Rewards and Smart Shopper cards.

Pedros’ head of new business, Peter Erasmus, said the new drive-through represents a very promising synergy between the brands. It aligns with their shared values and goals and with what their customers are looking for.

While fuel forecourts have been gaining popularity, the Pedros brand has also been expanding. The business has grown rapidly since it was first launched, opening about 180 stores in the past six years.

With an expansion rate of up to four stores per month, the brand has ambitious plans to extend its footprint across Africa.

“We believe we are well-positioned for growth in today’s difficult economic climate by providing a premium flame-grilled chicken experience that is more affordable than that of market leaders,” Erasmus said.