A franchise on fire

Taking the concept of traditional township shisa nyama, whereby friends come together to braai meat usually provided by a local butcher, and placing it in popular shopping malls, has proved to be master stroke by well-known South African businessman Stelio Nathanael.

In only two years Nathanael, who is also the founder of the Fish & Chips Company and managing director of Gold Brands, has grown his Chesanyama flame-grilled meat take-away franchise to some 200 outlets around the country, and a further three in Botswana and Lesotho.

In his capacity as head of Gold Brands, he has strove to provide platforms that drive the aggressive expansion of high-grossing, fast-moving franchises into the greater African continent, and the relatively new Chesanyama venture looks set to be another of those.

Where 'fun' make good financial sense

Shisa nyama has always been considered one of the country's most sociable pastimes, and Nathanael believes retaining this sense of "fun" has been integral to the company's success.

"I think consumers have responded well to us because we offer value for money and good clean meals, and we always keep it fun. In addition, I have tried to keep investment costs low for our franchisees," he said.

With the fast food and restaurant category making up a staggering 22% of the South African franchise sector, Nathanael has had to stay ahead of the game in terms of offering customers niche ideas that work.

Stelio Nathanael has grown his takeaway franchise to some 200 outlets in two years.

To this end, he conceptualised the business after noticing that despite South African's love of meat, fast-food outlets did not cater towards the niche of proper-flame-grilled meat.

Perceptions of the business have changed

"What is interesting is that we are no longer considered to be a business in the low LSM [Living Standards Measure] market, as people from all walks of life and now enjoying our meals. Our passion for shisa nyama comes through, and South Africans are enjoying eating traditional food that is cheaper than the larger fast food franchises.

Nathanael, who is born and bred in Pretoria, believes that the company's infrastructure has also contributed greatly to its success.

"Our head office in Highfield, Pretoria is a one-stop distribution centre, and we cut out the middle man by going straight to the abattoir. It is another reason why we are able to bring consumers lower prices."

So driven has Nathanael been in growing the venture that Pretoria franchisee Ravi Govender, whose outlet is based in the Bloedstreet Mall, describes him as "visionary".

Drive makes for success

"He started in the food business at the age of 16, and you can tell he has always had the drive, which obviously benefits us. I think for franchisees the big thing is that you receive yours orders from the franchise head directly. That is fantastic," he said.

Govender said while he had only been open for two months, he could see that the demand for shisa nyama was great.

"Pretoria people love their meat, and we are excited that we are able to provide them this with a very good, professional concept."

Johannesburg franchisee Oscar Dimba, who operates at Ghandi Square, concurs.

"I opened in June last year and we have been so busy. Because we operate in an office park, we get a lot of the lunchtime crowd. I think for me the most impressive thing is that we are attracting a lot of middle class consumers, the type of people who might usually go to Nando's, when some might have thought we would appeal more to low income groups," Dimba said.

"I am actually thinking of opening another franchise on the KZN coast, because I have been so successful."