Become a franchise
owner
Own and run a Big Five Direct container at a taxi rank or approved site, stocked with Big Five Foods™ and run on ContainerAdvisor®. Test your site, then apply.
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Your own Big Five Direct container business
A plain-language summary of the Big Five Direct Container Franchise Agreement (Version 1.2, November 2026). The full agreement is given to you on approval.
R15,000
once-off fee for your first container (R7,500 for each additional one), excl. VAT
5%
royalty on Big Five Foods™ items only: the only ongoing fee
Nil
franchise deposit, marketing levy, renewal, transfer or exit fees
5 + 5
year term with one renewal, and a 10 business day cooling-off
Your own Big Five Direct container business
Who can apply
Individuals, companies and other entities
An approved franchisee owns and runs one or more Big Five Direct containers as its own independent business. You are not an agent, partner or employee of Big Five Foods™. No personal suretyship is required.
Where
Taxi ranks and approved sites in South Africa
You propose the site. We assess it on footfall, commuter flows, safety, water, electricity and waste removal, visibility and nearby outlets. You obtain the consents needed, such as SANTACO or the local taxi association, the rank owner or the municipality.
Territory
Non-exclusive
Unless your agreement expressly grants an exclusive area, there is no protected territory. Each container has its own approved site.
Several containers
One agreement
One agreement can cover several containers. Each site and container is approved and inspected separately. More can be added later by a signed addendum.
Term
5 years, plus one 5-year renewal
No renewal fee. You may end the agreement on 6 months' notice with no exit fee.
Cooling-off
10 business days
Under section 7(2) of the Consumer Protection Act you may cancel without cost or penalty within 10 business days after signing, with a full refund of fees and deposits. You receive the Disclosure Document at least 14 days before signing.
Restraint
12 months, 5km
No competing container, kiosk or stall at a taxi rank during the term, and for 12 months afterwards within 5km of the site.
Disputes
Meet, mediate, arbitrate
Senior people meet first, then mediation, then arbitration. Your right to approach the National Consumer Commission is kept.
What you and your site need
You do not need all of this to apply. The form shows your readiness as you go.
A site with people passing
A taxi rank or another approved site. We review footfall, commuter flows, safety, visibility and nearby outlets.
Consent to trade there
You obtain the consents the site needs, such as SANTACO or the local taxi association, the rank owner or the municipality.
Power
Electricity for fridges and lights. The site review checks it.
Water and waste
Clean water and waste removal on or near the site, for food safety.
You, and a nominated manager
You own the business. You and one nominated manager attend the initial training. Preference, where practical, to women and young people nearby.
Your own funding
Big Five Foods™ does not provide funding. Self-funded, a sponsor or finance: tell us on the form.
Two ways to get your container
Choose per container. You can mix options when you run more than one.
Option A: Big Five Foods™ kitted container
- A 20ft container fitted out by Big Five Foods™ with gas burners and full electrics for fridges and lights, in the South African flag livery and Big Five Foods™ branding.
- R100,000 excl. VAT (current price). 50% deposit on order, 50% on delivery.
- Delivered within 10 days of the deposit, once the site is approved and ready. Delivery and collection at the end are included.
- Gas and electrical compliance certificates and a 12-month defects warranty. Ownership passes to you on payment in full.
Option B: your own container
- Build or source your own container, at your own cost, with any competent builder, to the Big Five Container Specification.
- Submit your layout, equipment list, livery proof and builder for approval before building starts. We reply within 10 business days.
- Final inspection within 10 business days of your request, with no re-inspection fee.
- The container may only trade once it has its Approval Certificate.
What it costs, as the agreement states it
Amounts exclude VAT. Where the agreement gives no figure, it says on application.
Initial franchise and admin fee
R15,000 first container · R7,500 each additional
Once-off, on signature. Covers onboarding, admin, site and container approval, training for up to 2 people and ContainerAdvisor® setup. Refunded in full if you cancel in the cooling-off period.
Royalty
5% of Royalty Turnover
Monthly in arrears by the 7th, from the ContainerAdvisor® report. Only turnover from Big Five Foods™ items counts. Partner products, other drinks, airtime, data, electricity and Vodacom services are excluded.
Option A container (if you choose it)
R100,000 per container
Current price at the date of the agreement; the price on the day your order is accepted applies. 50% deposit when the order is accepted (held in a separate account), 50% on delivery.
Product delivery
R200 per delivery · minimum order R2,500
Order through SupplierAdvisor® or ContainerAdvisor®. Pay by EFT before dispatch, or within 7 days on an approved credit account.
POS device, data, SupplierAdvisor® and ContainerAdvisor®
Included
No separate charge.
Annual or monthly fee, franchise deposit, marketing levy, renewal, transfer, training, re-inspection, early exit
None
Not payable.
Estimated start-up costs, per container
| Item | Option A | Option B |
|---|---|---|
| Container purchase or build | R100,000 (current price) | Your own build cost |
| Fit-out, gas burners, electrics, flag livery and branding | Included | Your own cost |
| Delivery to the site and collection at the end | Included | Your own cost |
| POS device, data and connectivity | Included | Included |
| Opening stock | R10,000 to R45,000 | R10,000 to R45,000 |
| Initial franchise and admin fee (first container) | R15,000 | R15,000 |
| Other site costs (rank or site fees, gas, staff, licences, permits) | On application: depends on the site | On application: depends on the site |
| Total of stated figures | R125,000 to R160,000, plus site costs | R25,000 to R60,000, plus the build and site costs |
Estimates exclude salaries, running costs and loan repayments. Big Five Foods™ does not provide funding, and no own contribution before borrowing is required.
Will a container work in your area?
The ContainerAdvisor® feasibility model: people, uptake, capex, monthly costs and income give a score, payback and break-even. Agreement figures are pre-filled and marked; everything else is an assumption for you to change.
Start from
Figures the Big Five Direct franchise agreement (v1.2) states replace the ContainerAdvisor® defaults and are marked Agreement. Every other figure is an assumption for you to change. The 5% royalty is a separate line from the operator commission; both are applied, and neither replaces the other.
Feasibility score
96
Strong deploy case
South Africa
People served / month
720
221,5 meals a day
Uptake of catchment
4.8%
720 regular customers
Margin per meal
R13
85% of price
Net / month after royalty
R48 553
R53 218 before royalty
Monthly income model
The 5% franchise royalty is a separate cost from the operator commission above. Both are applied; neither replaces the other.
Capital & returns
- + Strong gross margin per meal
- + Payback under 12 months (3.5 mo)
- + Meaningful food security reach
- + Non-POS income diversifies returns
- + Comfortable opex coverage from gross + other income
A planning model, not a forecast, an offer or advice. It uses your assumptions and excludes salaries unless you add them to opex. Big Five Foods™ does not provide funding.
Six stages from application to opening
Track yours in your account once you apply.
Apply
Your application, a screening call and the site review.
- 1
Application received
0We have your details, the site you propose and how you would get the container.
- 2
Screening and site review
0A call with our team, and a review of your site against the site criteria: footfall, safety, water, power, waste and visibility. We reply on a site within 10 business days.
Agree
Approval, the Disclosure Document and the signed agreement.
- 3
Approved in principle
0You receive the Disclosure Document and the full franchise agreement, at least 14 days before you sign.
- 4
Agreement signed
0You choose Option A or B for each container and sign. You may cancel within 10 business days without cost or penalty.
Deploy and trade
The container, certificates and training, then opening.
- 5
Container deployment
0Delivery or approved build, inspection and Approval Certificate, Certificate of Acceptability, training, POS and insurance.
- 6
Open and operating
0Big Five Foods™ confirms the commencement date. You trade, report on ContainerAdvisor® and pay the royalty monthly.
Training and support
- About 3 days of initial training for up to 2 people: food preparation, food safety, customer service, cash and POS, stock and ordering on SupplierAdvisor® and ContainerAdvisor®, brand standards and basic business management.
- About 2 trading days of opening support at your site, with a launch checklist.
- Ongoing support, field visits and refresher training, Super-Cube® learning content, and the Operations Manual and Brand Manual on ContainerAdvisor®.
- Marketing of Big Five Direct and Big Five Foods™ at our cost, and active work to bring partners that add products and footfall (no guaranteed sales).
What you commit to
- Keep the container in the South African flag livery and Big Five Foods™ branding.
- Stock the minimum range, including at least two hot OnePot meals and one fortified porridge while trading.
- Put every sale through the approved POS, and use SupplierAdvisor® and ContainerAdvisor®.
- Hold a Certificate of Acceptability and meet food safety and hygiene law.
- Insure the container, stock and liability, and employ your own staff under labour law and POPIA.
- Give preference, where practical, to women and young people from the community near the site.
This is a plain-language summary of the Big Five Direct Container Franchise Agreement (version 1.2, November 2026). It is not the agreement, an offer or advice. Amounts exclude VAT and prices may change as the agreement allows. The full agreement and the Disclosure Document are given to you on approval, at least 14 days before you sign. If anything here differs from the signed agreement, the signed agreement prevails.
Run it on ContainerAdvisor® in your portal
Your containers, sites, deployment, staff, sales and impact, inside your Big Five Foods™ account.
Sites on shared address fields
Each container has its own approved site, captured with the same address fields as the rest of your account.
The deployment checklist
The conditions before trading: fee, site approval, Approval Certificate, Certificate of Acceptability, training, POS and insurance.
Staff and training
Your team, their roles and training status, from initial training to refreshers.
Monthly sales and impact
Turnover, Big Five Foods™ turnover and the 5% royalty, meals served and jobs, month by month.
Feasibility scenarios
Save a feasibility per site or per application and come back to it.
Risks and actions
A log of risks, issues, actions and decisions for every container.
Open ContainerAdvisor® in your account · ContainerAdvisor® on SupplierAdvisor®
Where meals are needed
Organisations asking for support
Every organisation is reviewed before it is listed. Places are shown by town.
No organisations are asking for support right now.
NGOs & NPOs
How we support NGOs and NPOs that empower communities
Organisations whose work includes empowering projects can list themselves with Big Five Foods™ in the same public directory, be verified, and receive support through gifts and meals allocated to their projects.
Listed in the directory
Once an organisation is reviewed and approved, and opts in, it appears on the NGOs & NPOs page with its own organisation page.
Donors can choose them
In the donor flow, a listed organisation can be chosen as the recipient of a gift, so the meals go to its projects.
Meals allocated to their projects
Customers and partners can allocate food they buy to an organisation they support. Those meals are counted on the organisation's projects.
Verification, project pages and reports
Organisations can be verified, list their projects publicly, and follow the meals and reports on those project pages.
Before you apply
Does applying cost anything?
No. The application is free. It takes no payment, places no order and does not promise approval. Fees are payable only once you sign the agreement.
Who can apply?
Individuals, companies, cooperatives, NPOs and other entities who want to own and run a Big Five Direct container as their own business.
Do I get the full agreement?
Yes, on approval. You receive the full franchise agreement and the Disclosure Document at least 14 days before you sign, and you may cancel within 10 business days after signing.
Is my area protected?
Not unless your agreement expressly grants an exclusive area. Each container has its own approved site.
Does Big Five Foods™ fund the container?
No. Big Five Foods™ does not provide funding. The feasibility tool helps you test a site before you look for funding.
Will you publish my details?
No. This page shows only counts by stage and province. Your name, contact details and site stay with our team.
Own a Big Five Direct container in your community.
Test your site, apply online, and track every stage in your account.