Rooted in people, powered by culture — they’re reigniting the flame that’s made South Africa fall in love for 38 years – as Nandos announces a bold new era focused on cultural connection, brand longevity, and business resilience.

Nandos has been quiet for much of the past year but behind the scenes, the business has been in the middle of a strategic transformation, setting the stage for a significant brand shift in its three-decade history

For 38 years, Nando’s hasn’t just served chicken — it’s served a way of being South African.  Now, the brand is turning that flame inward and firing it up again.

This evolution marks a shift from the “Fire It Up” era that defined its cheeky, flame-grilled voice, to a broader reflection of the South African spirit that built the brand. Nandos has spent the past two years refining its operational model, investing in store refurbishments, and reimagining how it grows sustainably in a shifting consumer landscape.

With rising input costs, evolving consumer habits, and fierce competition in the quick-service restaurant space, this repositioning signals the start of a new growth era, one focused on cultural connection, brand longevity, and business resilience.

 This is a uniquely South African business story a brand that’s grown from one Johannesburg restaurant to an international powerhouse, now pausing to rediscover what it means to be of South Africa again.

On 14th November, Nando’s South Africa did more than launch a campaign. It staged a homecoming. The new brand direction, “Oh What a Place!”, isn’t a tagline — it’s a signal that the original South African maverick remains a cultural institution that cooks as boldly as the people it serves. It’s a return to the ingredients that built one of South Africa’s most loved brands: flame-grilled food, warm hospitality, and a sense of humour that could only come from here.

From Category Noise to Cultural Signal

Nando’s has never been just a restaurant. It’s a meeting point for everything that makes this country hum — humour, heat, and humanity served with flame-grilled precision.

But in a world where brands fight to stay relevant with hashtags and half-baked “purpose,” Nando’s is making its mark the old-fashioned way: with substance, flavour, and feeling.

Nando’s Chief Brand and Customer Officer, Jessica Wheeler says, “This isn’t a campaign. It’s a reset — a return to the way Nando’s was built from day one. Great food. Warm people. A place that feels unmistakably South African.”

The thread running through it all? It’s the people who make the chicken. That’s not copywriting. That’s the business model.

Turning Up the Flame— Not the Volume

The new brand ad brings the full orchestra to the table. It’s narrated by legendary news anchor Mam Noxolo Grootboom, features local HipHop megastar Kwesta and Rachel (a Nandoca turned TikTok phenomenon), real Nando’s grillers and spotlights a cast of South Africans who embody that elusive ‘thing’ you can’t quite explain — but you know it when you feel it. The ad doesn’t explain the culture — it lives in it.

Chief Creative Officer Melusi Mhlungu sums it up: “This isn’t a performance — it’s a mirror. The humour, the heart, the hustle. One flame-grilled scene at a time.” That’s what happens when creativity stops chasing trends and starts reflecting people.

 The Strategy Under the Skin

CEO Mike Cathie doesn’t take for granted the operational shifts needed to meet the now public promise of a surprising, delightful Nando’s experience. “We’ve been rebuilding from the kitchen out — to focus on what gives us our real fire: exceptional food, a better total experience, and a brand that reflects the true spirit of South Africa.”

That’s not PR fluff. It’s operational muscle. Everything — from service rituals to design to menu — has been engineered, optimised and in many instances, reimagined to signal a return to what really matters to customers. More generous meals. Louder laughs. Bigger sauce bottles. And in some restaurants, that even means bottomless soft serve and drinks.

It’s a deliberate shift from fast to full.

Why it matters

In a category obsessed with convenience, Nando’s is betting on something messier and more meaningful: people and connection. It’s leaning into what South Africans have always recognised as its unfair advantage: energy, optimism, and the kind of warmth that can’t be automated.

This isn’t about going back. It’s about going deeper. Because the real Nando’s story was never written in ad copy — it was lived, daily, by the people behind the counter, in the kitchen, and at the table. The same creativity and resilience that built the brand more than three decades ago, are now being used to reimagine its future.

It’s easy to dismiss this as nostalgia. It’s not. It’s strategy. Nando’s is rediscovering its greatest advantage — it just feels like home. Nando’s hasn’t found a new purpose statement; they’ve simply remembered the old one:

It’s the people who make the chicken.

That’s not a campaign. That’s a comeback.