• Pizza joints are popular businesses in South Africa. They’re hard work, but are also pretty straightforward franchises to own.
• How much you’ll pay for a pizza franchise depends on whether you welcome sit-down customers, offer takeaways only, serve only pizza, or offer additional meals.
• The brand is also important – and established franchises tend to cost more than smaller businesses in setup fees and royalties.
• Generally, you can expect to pay between R550,000 for a takeaway store, R1 million for a container store, and upwards of R2 million for a sit-down pizza joint in South Africa.

South Africa’s fast-food market is worth billions – and pizza contributes a significant amount to this.

Although the pizza sector has suffered some lacklustre performance recently, fuelled by stiff competition between global brands, it’s a reasonably appealing food franchise sector.

It’s not particularly difficult to make a fast-food pizza, they travel relatively well as takeaways, and the margins are decent – though you’ll still have to work hard and sell a lot to make money.

Several franchises firmly established in the South African fast-food market have honed the art of maximising profit on each pizza and are household names.

A pizza franchise is generally cheaper to buy and set up than bigger full-service restaurants, burger outlets, or coffee franchises. But if you’re going for something that offers sit-down facilities, additional menu items, or runs national ad campaigns, you can expect to fork up a bit more.

You can expect to pay around half a million to buy a brand-name pizza restaurant at the lower end of the scale. On the higher end, you’ll need at least R2.5 million.

Here’s what you’ll pay to open a pizza franchise like Debonairs, Andiccio 24, Roman’s Pizza, Pizza Perfect, or Col’Cacchio in 2022.

Roman’s Pizza

The Roman’s Pizza concept started in 1993 when the owner purchased a downtrodden pizza restaurant and attempted to turn it around. He decided to keep prices unchanged but, to attract customers, adopted a model that sold two pizzas for the price of one. The ploy worked, and today Roman’s Pizza says some stores sell more than 2,000 pizzas each night.

Many of their stores are owner-operated franchises. They are looking for people who are passionate about food, willing to work long hours, and will adhere to their operating standards. They train franchisees and staff members for up to six weeks before opening, assist in store locations, and import key equipment.

Roman’s Pizza fees: Franchisees must pay a R90,000 joining fee, and a new store of 120 square metres costs around R2.6 million. Franchisees must have 50% of this in cash and have a working capital of R100,000. Once operating, Roman’s charges ongoing management and advertising fees that total 8% of monthly turnover.

Pizza Perfect

Pizza Perfect started as a single Johannesburg pizza store in 1989. They made a name for themselves serving “authentic” pizzas with generous cheese and fresh toppings. Pizza Perfect has expanded its footprint by taking on franchisees who receive initial training and ongoing support. They’re looking for franchisees passionate about service who will run the store hands-on.

Pizza Perfect fees: Pizza Perfect charges a R10,000 application fee and a R75,000 joining fee. The average setup cost for a new 90-square-meter take-out Pizza Perfect branch is R1.1 million, and franchisees must have 50% of this in unencumbered capital. Once operating, franchisees must pay a total of 9% of turnover that goes towards royalties and marketing.

Col’Cacchio

Col’Cacchio has been in South Africa for more than 30 years and, by franchising stores, has grown to include 26 branches throughout South Africa. Although officially it calls itself a pizzeria and offers take-outs, franchises are also full-service restaurants. They offer franchisees full training before opening and are looking for hard-working people “not afraid of long hours”.

Col’Cacchio fees: There are two franchise options from Col’Cacchio – sit-down and takeaway and delivery. They estimate a full sit-down store to cost in the region of R2.5 million. A takeaway store costs between R1.5 million and R1.8 million. Once operating, franchisees pay 8% of turnover per month, that’s allocated to management and marketing fees.

Debonairs Pizza

Debonairs Pizza, like many fast-food joints, started in South Africa in the early 90s. Under the ownership of franchising giants Famous Brands, it’s become one of the most common pizza chains in the country. Today there are nearly 500 branches throughout South Africa, with new stores also popping up abroad. Despite the massive footprint, they are still open to new franchise applications in four different store formats.

Debonairs Pizza fees: Debonairs now offers three franchise types with different initial fees and setup costs.

A Standard store costs R68,000 in initial fees, and R2.24 million to set up. An Express store costs R62,000 in initial fees, and R2.05 million to set up. A Shopping Mall Debonairs costs R68,000 in initial fees, and R2.24 to set up. And a Container Debonairs costs R120,000 in initial fees, and R1.5 million to set up.

All franchisees must then pay monthly fees for marketing and royalties that total 12% of turnover.

Andiccio 24

Andiccio is a pizza take-out chain that built a name for itself with custom toppings, fast delivery, and late-night service. The store’s network has grown dramatically in recent years, with 29 branches in South Africa and a recent expansion into Dubai. Currently, South African stores are in Joburg, Pretoria, and Cape Town. They are focusing their growth on the Western Cape but are looking to expand into other provinces soon.

Andiccio 24 fees: Franchisees must pay an application fee of R6,900. Setup fees for a new Andiccio cost in the region of R2.15 million, and ongoing franchise fees for royalties and marketing amount to 7% of turnover.

Panarottis Pizza and Pasta

Panarottis is another pizza store that opened in 1990, and since then, it’s expanded to 121 restaurants throughout South Africa and Australia. The store claims to produce pizzas that are “true to tradition”, and each store prepares its meals fresh. Much of their expansion is due to franchising, and they’re still accepting applications from people interested in opening a Panarottis restaurant.

Panarottis Pizza and Pasta fees: Panarottis offers two pizza stores for purchase – express and full service. Panarottis Pizza Express stores cost between R570,000 and R1.2 million, and full stores cost R1.2 million to R4 million. The store does not disclose ongoing fees and royalties, and franchisees must have 60% of the total cost available in cash.

Source: Business Insider South Africa – www.businessinsider.co.za