Industry revenue of “restaurants, bars and canteens“ in South Africa 2011-2023

Two South African restaurants, the only ones from the African region, made the list of the top 50 restaurants in the world, at a 2019 awards ceremony in Singapore. This gives an indication of the health of the South African restaurant and bar industry, which is expected to witness a steady increase in revenues from 5.6 billion in 2018 to 6.7 billion in 2023. South Africa is the largest market for food and drink in sub-Saharan Africa, with a large and competitive hospitality industry. A rise in the number of tourists, strong levels of consumer spending and world renowned wines and cuisine are some of the factors driving growth in the industry. In fact, according to a study by Statistics South Africa, spending on alcoholic drinks such as Wine and Beer trumps that on other beverages such as Tea and Coffee.

A burgeoning fast food market

Fast food is big business in South Africa, contributing the largest share to the food and beverage market in 2018. Despite the tough economic situation in the country, factors such as the introduction of healthy options by fast food outlets, easy to use digital services such as UberEats and a large variety of fast food including Asian Indian, Mexican and Italian, are some of the factors driving market growth.