The story of Nandos’ famous spice: PERi-PERi, has its roots in Mozambique’s sunny climate, home to the African Bird’s Eye Chili.

When Portuguese explorers came around, they were enchanted by its flavor and modified it by infusing some garlic into it. The rest, they say, is history.

Nandos Franchise Startup Cost, Profit & Opportunities

PERi-PERi found its way down to Rosettenville, Johannesburg, where it was fully embraced and became one of the several essential spices used by restaurants like Nandos.

This article dwells on the franchise opportunity offered by Nandos.

As a significant restaurant brand, it’s common to find a lot of investors seeking to join Nandos’ franchise program. This article provides information on what it takes to own a Nandos.

You’ll want to read along for all the details.

About Nandos

Since opening its business doors in 1987, the Nandos brand has blossomed beyond expectations.

From its humble beginnings, the pioneers of the restaurant, Robbie and Fernando, took advantage of the unique PERi-PERi spice to launch their restaurant operations.

Nandos is well known for its specially prepared chicken marinated in PERi-PERi for 24 hours. This allows the flavor to get into the bone.

It’s one delicacy that has continued to attract a lot of patronages, and you can leverage such an opportunity to start your own Nandos.

Why Nandos?

Before committing to any investment, one must determine the reasons for joining.

Nandos gives you several, including the opportunity to master your operations. The franchisor’s range of master classes caters to areas like employee relations, finance, leadership, and operational processes.

Other reasons to join Nandos include its operational excellence, induction training for new franchisees, and the prospect of growing and expanding your operations.

What more? New and existing Nandos franchisees get initial and ongoing training and support.

The Ideal Franchisee

Nandos is actively seeking qualified franchisees. This includes franchise candidates who are computer literate and creditworthy with complete capital requirements met.

You must also be willing to get your hands dirty and must be able to market your business and sell yourself.

No formal education is needed to apply to its franchise program. It’s essential to be willing to get your hands dirty. This is part of Nando’s requirement for consideration in its franchise program.

You can apply to its program if you’ve met all of these qualifications.

Nandos Financial Requirements

To join its franchise program, Nandos requires franchisees to meet its minimum requirements. Nandos operates two franchise models: the drive-thru and inline.

The total investment costs needed for its drive-thru model is about R7,050,000, while that for its inline model is about R5,250,000.

Here, initial stock takes up about R300,000 for the drive-thru and R215,000 for its inline model. Other working capital, deposits, and pre-opening expenses amount to R200,000 for its drive-thru and inline models.

The application fee for the Nandos franchise is around R35,000. This is inclusive of Vat. There’s also a franchise fee of R250,000 (Vat inclusive).

  • Breakdown of Average Total Investment

You might wonder what the total investment covers. For its drive-thru franchise model, cost details include restaurant design & setup at R675,000.

Design & project management costs around R545,000, shop fittings cost R1,366,000, and kitchen equipment costs R1,320,000.

More drive-thru cost details include the fixtures and fittings that take up around R1,894,000, while the average investment, excluding VAT, is around R6,800,000.

The franchise fee amounts to R250,000. The total amount is around R7,050,000.

The cost breakdown for Nandos’ inline franchise model is about R979,400 for restaurant design & setup and R475,000 for design & project management.

Shop fittings cost around R987,800, kitchen equipment costs R202,000, and fixtures & fittings cost about R1,355,800.

The average investment, excluding VAT, is R5,000,000, and the franchise fee is R250,000. The total average establishment cost is R5,250,000.

Nando’s franchise fee of R250,000 covers initial pre-opening or launch assistance, assistance with lease negotiations, and the right to use and operate under its brand name and concept.

Other things included are the initial owner & staff training and site selection & evaluation assistance.

Applying to Nandos Franchise Program

If you are satisfied with the information and want to take things further, you can proceed to the application page.

The franchise is limited to specific regions, including Free State, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Limpopo, and KwaZulu-Natal.

Other regions where this franchise opportunity is available include Eastern Cape, North-West, Northern Cape, and Western Cape. Upon clicking on any of the ‘apply’ links, you’re redirected to the terms and conditions page, which you need to read.

With the terms and conditions fully understood, click “I accept the terms & conditions” and proceed to the application.

Training for Nandos Franchisees

Upon meeting all the requirements for Nandos franchise ownership, an intensive training program is scheduled.

Such training includes theoretical as well as on-the-job training. All aspects of your operation are covered during the training process.

So how long does the training last? Nandos provides two months of intensive training. Franchisees are expected to make adequate arrangements for the period.

The location for training will be the closest Nando’s training restaurant.

Here, preparation will include accommodation and travel, amongst other expenses. Do provisions to fast-track the training program to less than two months as stipulated?

Not at all! All new franchisees are required to complete the training program for the period.

  • Training Covers Key Areas of Operation

When it comes to the training provided by the franchisor touches on a variety of critical areas.

These include industrial relations, general business & financial management, product preparation & presentation, raw material management, customer care, and marketing.

Other areas include restaurant maintenance, safety & security, general restaurant management, personnel management & training, and restaurant administration.

Your Responsibility as a Nandos Franchisee

As its franchisee, you’re required to handle several responsibilities. Such include people management and business management.

Other responsibilities include marketing the restaurant and brand, customer orientation & community relations, excellence in service levels, and creating a friendly, fun, and personalized environment.

If you’ve read to this point, you shouldn’t have a problem applying to this franchise program. The franchisor is always willing to provide ready answers for readers with questions.

You only need to make a move to get the ball rolling. Unfortunately, there are no international franchise provisions.

The opportunity is only available for candidates within South Africa. You can still contact the franchisor for further details on this and other areas.