ARTICLE
11 June 2012
SA’s favourite fast food
His blend of herbs and spices might be a secret, but South Africans are making it no secret
how much they love the Colonel’s “original recipe” fried chicken.
Research done by the South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) shows that
Kentucky Fried Chicken stands out head, shoulders and cockscomb above the rest when it
comes to fast food in South Africa.
This is according to SAARF’s bi-annual All Media and Products Survey (AMPS), the research
currency for the marketing, advertising and media industry in South Africa.
AMPS Dec 2011, which looks at consumer behavior from January to December 2011, shows
that one out of every two South African adults (aged 15+) bought food at KFC over a fourweek period. That’s 17.347-million people pulling in to their nearest KFC outlet at least once
a month, and very often more.
The top bird in the fast food pecking order also held the lead five years ago, according to
SAARF AMPS 2007. Then, 43.7% of adults said they bought KFC in a four-week period,
compared to 49.7% currently.
KFC is most popular in Limpopo, where 57.8% of the province’s adult population pops in
over four weeks. On the other end of the scale, the Eastern Cape has the lowest proportion,
with a relatively low 31.3% of adults dropping in for fried chicken. (But then almost a third
of people who say they do not eat fast food of any kind live in the Eastern Cape, the highest
proportion of non-fast-food eaters in SA.)
The Colonel’s next closest competitor is that red-and-yellow clown, Ronald McDonald. Up
from fourth position five years ago, McDonald’s has 12% of the adult population saying “I’m
Lovin’ It” at least once in a four-week period. That’s 4.175-million people.
Three local-is-lekker fast food brands round off the top-five list. Nando’s places third,
attracting 11.4% of all adults, or 3.972-million people at least once over four weeks. The
3.595-million adults (10.3%) who opted for “soul food” place Chicken Licken into fourth
position, while the black-tied Debonairs ranks fifth at 8.8%, or 3.057-million adults.
HOW OFTEN IS “TAKEAWAY” NIGHT?
SAARF AMPS Dec 2011 shows that for the majority of South Africans, takeaway is a once-amonth indulgence. Almost one third of all adults – 11.306-million – reported that they
bought food at fast-food outlets once a month.
As with anything in life, there are those who take things to extremes: 578 000 adults said
they bought fast food between four and six times a week. Another 1.890-million, or 5.4%,
said you’d find them queuing at a fast food till between two and three times a week.
Despite worsening economic conditions, more people today eat fast food than they did five
years ago. In 2007, 26.5% of adults said they never bought takeaways. Today, just under
18% of all adults said they never bought fast food.
Which goes to prove, never is an awfully long time. Especially when the Colonel’s chicken
awaits…
ends
Note to the editor:
The South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) is the provider of research data
to the advertising, marketing and media industries. Its main objective is to direct and
publish media and product/brand research for the benefit of its stakeholders, thereby
providing data for target marketing and a common currency for the buying and selling of
media space and time. The information is also used by media owners for strategic
programme and editorial planning.
SAARF conducts a number of major media and product/brand surveys. The All Media and
Products Survey (AMPS®), includes extensive information on media as well as products,
services, brands, attitudes, interests and activities and is South Africa's only free source of
data on nearly 120 product categories and over 1 500 brands. Other important surveys are
the Radio Audience Measurement Survey (RAMS®); the Television Audience Measurement
Survey (TAMS®) and the SAARF Out of Home Media Survey (OHMS). SAARF also provides
comprehensive information on target groups, and supplies segmentation tools which include
the SAARF Living Standards Measure (LSM®), SAARF Life Stages, SAARF Lifestyles and
SAARF Attitudes, which are widely used for segmenting target markets.