Best Before gives consumers up to 43% more savings
Have you shopped at a Best Before store yet?
More and more consumers are feeling the pinch and finding it difficult to make ends meet as food costs consistently rise.
Those in the know might point you toward Best Before, a fast-growing supermarket chain with multiple locations across Gauteng.
Launched in 2017 by Mark Gordon and Alain Soriano, the store offers heavily discounted food and personal care items that are either close to or just past their best-before dates.
While this might raise eyebrows at first, the products are perfectly safe to consume. In fact, the model has proven so successful that the founders are planning to expand into more regions across South Africa, including smaller towns.
According to Best Before’s newsletters, customers regularly save between 28% and 43% compared to traditional supermarkets.
"The promised saving was 35% on 20 March 2025. It was 34% on 27 March, 43% on 3 April, 32% on 10 April, and 28% on 16 April," Business Tech reports.
While the products sold at Best Before are close to (or just past) their best-before date, they are still completely safe to use, as they fall well within their use-by date.
The retailer buys large volumes of these goods at significantly reduced prices and passes the savings directly on to customers.
Best Before stocks well-known and trusted brands including Cadbury, Toblerone, Cook n Bake, All Gold, Clover, Bakers, Halls, Game, Black Cat, Craft, Nescafé, Pepsi, and Anat.
They’ve also added a selection of imported favourites like Mountain Dew, Côte d’Or, Hershey’s, Bokomo, Willards, Koo, and Labello.
The company places a strong emphasis on quality control, offering customers peace of mind – and even a full refund – if any product fails to meet expectations.
Best Before currently offers an e-commerce platform for customers in Gauteng, with plans to roll out online shopping to other provinces across South Africa.
The first store, located in Wendywood, Sandton, proved so successful that it led to the launch of several more branches, including outlets in Boksburg, Edenvale, Fourways, Northcliff, Krugersdorp, and the Atterbury Lifestyle Centre in Pretoria.
According to Business Tech, "The retailer claims to offer the best bang for people’s buck and make the unaffordable affordable in South Africa."
Not sure of the difference between “best before”, “sell by”, and “use by” dates? Read this article.
Listen to Jacaranda FM:
- 94.2
- Jacaranda FM App
- http://jacarandafm.com
- DStv 858/ OpenView 602
Image courtesy of iStock