Nando's is giving away free food depending on the stage of load shedding

One can rely on Nando's to inject some humour into the South African experience, and its latest retail campaign adds an upside to the country's power supply crisis.

15 Jun 2022

Source: Supplied

When load shedding strikes, the quick service restaurant brand's Bright Side promotion gives customers free sides when they order a full chicken through the Nando’s app or website. And the higher the level of load shedding, the more free food on offer.

This means that during Stage 2 load shedding customers can choose two free sides, while Stage 3 gets you three free sides. "We bet you can’t wait for stage four now," Nando's quips in a media statement.

It adds, "Rejoice! There’s no need to go digging under game farm mattresses or starting a flag company to make some extra cash. With Nando’s Brightside we save you the trouble of saving so you can focus on getting hold of some matches or a torch. We’ll have you excited for load shedding. You know the saying, there’s a bright side to everything and that includes load shedding."

Nis'founele once loadshedding hits, we have some sides hidden under a mattress. It's a steal��‍♂️#NandosBrightSides https://t.co/zS0Xu23Utm
— NandosSA (@NandosSA) June 14, 2022

Commenting to Bizcommunity on the inspiration behind the campaign, Nando's general manager for digital marketing Darren Hampton said, "Being a South African brand, we go through the same emotions South Africans go through when it comes to all things that happen in the country, including load shedding. It affects us as a business, as people and as employees.

"We thought about how we could be optimistic about the ongoing issue of load shedding, and be able to laugh at ourselves as well. There was a little bit of a silver lining we could have some fun with."

The Nando’s Bright Side promotion is an exclusive offer for orders placed on the Nando's app and website, and is limited to a set number of orders per day. According to Hampton, the campaign will run until the end of July and may be extended depending on how severe load shedding gets.