South Africa Is Building a Different Kind of Franchise Success

By Tam Goldsmith

Sorbet's growth shows how recurring service businesses are reshaping South African franchising.

For years, South Africa's biggest franchise success stories have come from food. Chicken, burgers, pizza and coffee have dominated expansion headlines both locally and abroad. Yet one of the country's most disciplined franchise businesses has quietly grown in an entirely different category. Sorbet has spent two decades proving that recurring beauty services can be just as scalable as quick-service restaurants, raising an interesting question for the wider franchise industry: are we looking for the next great franchise success story in the wrong sectors?

The Success Story That Grew Quietly

When people discuss South African franchising, restaurant brands usually dominate the conversation. They are highly visible, expand quickly and naturally attract media attention. Service businesses rarely receive the same level of recognition, even when they build networks of comparable scale.

Sorbet is a good example. Since opening its first salon in 2005, the brand has expanded into a nationwide franchise network spanning beauty therapy, haircare, nail services and men's grooming. The business now operates more than 200 locations across several formats, making it one of South Africa's largest specialist service franchise systems.

Unlike many consumer businesses, Sorbet's growth has not been driven by novelty or rapid product cycles. It has been built around services that customers return for every few weeks, creating predictable demand and long-term client relationships.

Recurring Customers Create Stronger Businesses

One of the biggest advantages service franchises can have over traditional retail is frequency.

Customers may visit a clothing store a handful of times each year, but hair appointments, beauty treatments and grooming services often become part of a regular routine. That changes the economics of the business. Instead of relying heavily on attracting new customers every month, successful operators can build recurring revenue from an established client base while continuing to grow through referrals and new appointments.

That does not make beauty franchising easy. Success still depends on service quality, staff retention and customer experience. However, when those fundamentals are managed well, recurring demand can provide a level of stability that many other sectors work hard to achieve.

Clicks Added More Than Capital

Sorbet's development took another significant step when Clicks Group acquired the business after first investing as a minority shareholder. The acquisition was about far more than ownership. It connected a service franchise with one of South Africa's most recognised health and beauty retailers, creating opportunities to strengthen customer loyalty, expand product sales and increase brand visibility.

The relationship also reflects a wider shift taking place across franchising. Increasingly, successful brands are combining services, retail products and loyalty programmes into broader customer propositions rather than relying on one source of revenue alone.

The Bigger Opportunity for African Franchising

Perhaps the most important lesson from Sorbet is not about beauty.

It is about where the next generation of African franchise brands may emerge.

For years, entrepreneurs have naturally looked towards restaurants because the model is familiar and highly visible. Yet many of the continent's strongest opportunities may exist in sectors where customer demand is recurring, operational systems can be standardised and competition remains less crowded.

Healthcare, home services, education, wellness and professional services all share many of those characteristics.

Sorbet demonstrates that world-class franchise businesses do not have to begin in the food industry.

Sometimes they are quietly built in sectors that receive far less attention.

What We Can Learn From This

Sorbet's success shows that the strongest franchise opportunities are often built around customer habits rather than consumer trends. Businesses that generate repeat visits through consistent service create stronger foundations for long-term franchise growth than those relying heavily on constant customer acquisition. For emerging franchisors, the lesson is clear: the next great franchise opportunity may not be in the most obvious category.