Established in 1970, Bimbo's was one of the first fast food operations to emerge on the South African market. With a successful legacy stretching back over 30 years, Bimbo's pioneered and now dominates the 24-hour fast food market.

The first Bimbo's store was opened in 1970 on the corner of Banket and Kotze Street, Johannesburg and soon after another store was opened in Hillbrow. In 1976 two brothers, Lauire and Alan Davidoff bought these stores and opened a third one in Killarney and a fourth in Rosebank. In 1981 a new outlet was opened in Sandton City. Today there are 32 Bimbo outlets in South Africa and 8 in Botswana.

According to independent research conducted in March 2005, statistics show that the Bimbo's brand appeals to those who are young at heart, free-living, fun and dynamic. The group's main target audience are young adults and students including business people, families and couples who fall into this category. This is the most important market segment for the fast food industry as people in this group are more likely to eat out on a regular basis.

Keeping in line with these emerging trends, Bimbo's is undergoing a major facelift and over the next 18 months will introduce a new generation of Bimbo's stores. These will be situated at late-night entertainment venues, shopping and food malls in order to capture the brand's target market of 15-25 year olds. This project is already underway with the introduction of four new-look Bimbo's stores that have shown a steady increase in support from the public.

The Bimbo's franchise and new generation product range not only rides in the slipstream of a tried and tested business concept of almost three decades; its competitiveness in the fast food and quick service restaurant (QSR) is continuously ensured by market research, sales analysis, experience and constant upgrades.


The management team that drives the Bimbo's group is strong and uncompromising when it comes to maintaining high standards and quality. All members are well qualified and dedicated to building and maintaining a top quality brand. The stringent franchisee selection standard and recruitment process is crucial to the success of the Bimbo's operational and brand image, ensuring that the high quality and good value customers have become accustomed to remains intact.

The success of the Bimbo's brand is ensured through the provision of ongoing training, support and the hands-on commitment from the franchisor. Bimbo's franchisees receive solid support from the holding company, King Consolidated Food Services (KingCo). These include operations, financial and marketing systems and programmes which are used to assist the franchisees in maximising operating profits and ultimately the return on investment. Franchisees also receive continuous advice on site selection, information on training staff, extensive training and guidelines for the preparation of food and systems to make management and stock control efficient and uncomplicated.

The set-up costs to start a Bimbo's franchise are approximately R465 000. However, the new Bimbo's franchisee invariably requires less capital that if they were to open an independent business because of the assistance they receive from the holding company when negotiating favourable leases, fair prices on equipment, fixtures, and fittings, good prices because of group bulk purchases. Bimbo's also operates a central distribution centre with storage and refrigeration facilities which ensures product and price uniformity.

Bimbo's highly values the opinions, feedback and ideas from all its franchisees, managers and staff. Consequently maximum allowance is made for open lines of communication facilitating communication flows to and from franchisees. As with all businesses, customer feedback is crucial, which is why the management team constantly survey the customer feedback questionnaires posted on the websites and regulate all calls received from its customer care line.

The product ranges are highly competitive in order to keep attracting customers and boosting profit, so when it comes to a high quality, value for money fast food store, Bimbo's is the ideal investment choice with added value. The roll-out of the new generation stores is once again leading the way for other fast food groups, meaning Bimbo's retains its position as the pioneer of the fast food industry