Famous Brands spent R8.8 million on diesel to keep restaurants open during load shedding in Q1 2023
- This is an 880% increase from the R1 million spent on diesel in Q1 2022
- Famous Brands used 397,000 litres of diesel in Q1 2023 compared to 48,000 litres last year
- Load shedding accounted for 22.16% of Famous Brands’ restaurant sales from March to May 2023
- During stage 6 load shedding, some Famous Brands’ plants ran on generators for over 40 hours per week
- However, leading brands like Wimpy, Debonairs and Steers grew sales by 9% in June 2023 compared to June 2022
- At the same time, Famous Brands’ quick service restaurants lagged this quarter mainly due to load shedding
- Signature brands like Fego Caffe and Salsa Mexican Grill shrank 1% in sales in June 2023