Fuel company Astron Energy has signed a 10-year partnership extension agreement with one of South Africa’s forecourt retail brands, FreshStop.
The deal meant that Astron Energy, which operates a retail network of more than 800 service stations in South Africa, would continue its 15-year journey with FreshStop, a part of the Food Lover’s Market group of companies.
Astron Energy operates a network of Astron Energy and Caltex service stations.
Currently, over 330 service stations feature a FreshStop, which houses a number of on-the-go food offerings, as well as internationally renowned coffee brand Seattle Coffee Company at selected sites.
Astron Energy CEO Thabiet Booley said their strategic alliance with FreshStop goes back to 2009 and they were pleased to extend this partnership for a further 10 years.
“This signifies the trust and value we place in the FreshStop offering and also speaks to Astron Energy’s long-term commitment to investing in our network and the future of the country,” Booley said.
He added that in Astron Energy and FreshStop, they had two proudly South African brands looking to deliver exceptional service and rewarding experiences for consumers.
Brian Coppin, CEO of the Food Lover’s Market Group, said over the last 15 years, with an investment of more than R830 million, the Freshstop brand had become synonymous with innovative 24-hour convenience.
“This continued winning partnership with Astron Energy will ensure that we can continue to grow our ever-expanding footprint, offering over 200 000 daily South African customers incredible value, variety and a world-class forecourt experience,” Coppin said.
FreshStop is one of South Africa’s leading forecourt retail brands, bringing 24-hour shopping convenience to forecourts.
Astron Energy, which operates the Caltex network under licence from Chevron, launched its new brand in late 2021 and rebranded the first of its over 800 sites in August 2022.
Astron Energy general manager for retail and marketing, Farouk Farista, said sites featuring a FreshStop had seen significant returns in terms of revenue and traffic as a result of the prime convenience store offering..
“This includes potentially refreshing or reimagining the look and feel of FreshStop at Astron Energy’s sites,” Farista said.
The 10-year extension agreement between Astron Energy and FreshStop was no longer exclusive, and Farista said the fuel company was constantly looking at evolving trends and opportunities in the fuel retail space.
According to KPMG’s Fuel Forecourt Retail Market Global 2020 report, the global forecourt retail market stood at $196.6 billion in 2019 and was expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 3.6% during 2019–23, to reach $226.4bn by last year.
BUSINESS REPORT