Scooters Pizza targets 20 stores by November

Nine months after returning to the South African fast-food landscape, Scooters Pizza is accelerating its national footprint, reaching its 10th store and targeting 20 operating outlets by 30 November.

Following the opening of its first return-to-market outlet in Melville on 21 October 2025, the brand has established a 10-store presence across Gauteng, Limpopo, and the Western Cape.

Read: Scooters Pizza makes a comeback after 10 years

To support its operational expansion, it has partnered with former Nando’s franchisee Vernon Marais as master franchise holder for the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).

Marais, who previously owned eight Nando’s outlets, brings operational expertise and infrastructure through his last-mile delivery platform, Skedadel, which handles approximately 100 000 deliveries per month for major fast-food brands.

Read: Franchising touted as untapped engine for SA’s economic recovery

Detailing the strategic appointment and regional focus, the company notes: “Coming back to KZN isn’t nostalgia, it’s where we’re seeing some of the strongest pull: of the 1 200+ franchise enquiries we’ve had since relaunching in October 2025, more than 250+ have come from KZN alone and another 400+ from Western Cape.”

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“We’ll be bringing that technology and delivery capacity into Scooters, which is a materially stronger delivery asset than our current in-house system, particularly for the Western Cape and KZN rollout.”

Expansion plans and pipeline

The brand recently expanded into the Western Cape, opening an outlet at Stadium on Main in Claremont and beginning shopfitting at its Parow site on Voortrekker Street.

Activity snapshot:

Active footprint (10 stores): Melville, Rosebank, Elspark, Edenvale, Alberton, Dalview and Waverley (Gauteng), Phalaborwa (Limpopo), and Claremont and Parow (Western Cape).
Near-term target (by 30 November): Opening in Rustenburg in September, expanding in Pretoria, and launching its first KZN outlets in Ballito and Umhlanga to reach 20 stores.
Long-term objective: Scaling to 50 national outlets by November 2027, with a five-year target of 35 stores across KZN.

Franchise model and financial terms

The revived chain has structured its franchise economics to lower the capital requirements and ongoing fees for owner-operators, completely severing historical ties with prior corporate structures.

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Listen/read: Carlo Gonzaga – CEO, Taste Holdings

“In 2016, once Taste Holdings had converted the brand to Domino’s, I approached them to try and acquire the Scooters trademark myself – they refused at the time,” says group CEO Juan Engelbrecht.

“It was only in early 2025 that I was able to independently secure the trademarks, trading name and a caveat over Scooters Pizza (Pty) Ltd.

“So beyond the trademarks, there’s no ownership, operational or management link to Taste Holdings at all – this is a new company, with a new management team, built from scratch.”

Key structural and commercial terms include:

Setup costs: Starting from R1.6 million, positioned at R500 000 to R1 000 000 below conventional industry benchmarks;
Fee structure: Combined royalties and marketing contributions reduced from 12% to 9% (comprising a 6% management royalty and 3% national marketing contribution);
Supply chain: Operates without a central kitchen model, enabling franchisees to procure quality inputs directly without corporate supply markups; and
Delivery channel: In-house delivery fleet generates 10% to 20% of store revenues, supported by its signature 39-minute delivery guarantee and the upcoming rollout of its ‘Pizza Perks’ customer loyalty programme.

Read: Pizza wars

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