SOUTH AFRICA – KFC Africa, regional operating unit of US-based fast-food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken headquartered in South Africa, has been appointed Grant Macpherson as its Chief Marketing Officer.
The South African born marketer joined KFC in 2013 as marketing manager for KFC UK, where he led several portfolios across retail, brand and innovation.
In 2015, Grant moved to KFC Netherlands to lead marketing function across the Netherlands, Iceland and Sweden.
After his successful time in the UK and Europe, Grant returned to South Africa in 2018 and has been at the forefront of driving branded retail for the brand.
During this time, Grant has been a key architect in KFC’s growth, helping navigate the brand through the pandemic crisis and enabling KFC to continue to drive sales momentum, grow market share and elevate its leadership position.
In 2022, Grant was promoted to marketing director, brand communication and purpose, where he led the brand’s focus on taste, resulting in the recent industry award-winning Taste Guarantee and Taste Inspector campaigns.
“I am incredibly excited to be leading this amazing brand with the support of our world-class marketing team and agency partners.
“It is certainly an exciting time to be part of the brand as we continue to define our recipe for growth and good, ensuring we remain South Africa’s favourite QSR brand and continue to grow across the African continent,” says Macpherson.
Uber launches grocery dark store
Meanwhile, Uber Eats has launched a ‘dark’ grocery store in South Africa called Uber Eats Market, in partnership with Smart Kitchen Co.
The grocery store opened its virtual doors in August 2022 piloting in some areas of Cape Town, and is now available in nine locations across Johannesburg and Cape Town offering grocery items, such as alternative dairy products and meats, that customers would normally find in a commercial store.
“We decided to work with Smart Kitchen Co. to allow us to offer a wider selection to meet the ever-changing needs of consumers.
“We also wanted to trial an initiative that would truly allow us to experiment and tap into the power of the platform to enable a better grocery shopping experience,” said Cikida Gcali-Mabusela, general manager for grocery and new verticals for Uber Eats sub-Saharan Africa.
Since going live on the app, according to reports by Bizcommunity, the store has become the highest-performing non-restaurant store on the app, with 149% growth month on month.
The delivery company described the move as its debut into quick commerce, and Gcali-Mabusela noted that the quick commerce trend has seen explosive growth worldwide in recent years, and is now taking off in South Africa.
She is confident that Uber Eats can be a key driver of this growth as the company gears itself to be a “leading delivery platform” by embracing the shift to a virtual mall concept in the country.
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