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Helping a QSR Giant Reconnect with a New Generation of South African Diners through Online Market Research Panels

Nando's South Africa Case Study

Business Problem

Given how today’s Gen Z and Millennial consumers’ dining experiences are shaped by evolving lifestyles, emotional needs, and cultural identity, one of South Africa’s most iconic QSR brands recognized a pressing need to: 

  • Understand how dining behaviors are shifting among youth across diverse provinces and socio-economic groups. 
  • Identify high-impact consumption moments to inspire new menu innovations. 
  • Build stronger cultural and emotional resonance with youth audiences through relevant messaging and experiences. 

To unlock these insights, the brand turned to Borderless Access for deep, tech-enabled consumer understanding. 

What & How We Did It

We deployed a hybrid, high-tech research approach grounded in behavioral insight and cultural nuance: 

  • 1,169 respondents engaged via our proprietary mobile panel, covering all 9 provinces. 
  • 18 digital ethnographies conducted through WhatsApp to capture real-time behavior during weekday and weekend meal occasions. 
  • Our mixed methodology for designing surveys included: 
    • Quantitative surveys for behavioral validation. 
    • Qualitative techniques like behavioral mapping and emotional coding. 
    • AI-powered voice tonality analysis to authenticate responses and surface subconscious emotional drivers. 

This approach uncovered not just what youth were eating—but why, when, and how they were making those choices. 

Key Insights

Borderless Access revealed key behavioral and emotional drivers that redefined how the brand connects with South African youth: 

  • Identified three high-impact meal occasions that offer strategic entry points for engagement throughout the week.  
  • Pinpointed four core emotional triggers driving food choices: Comfort, Energy, Escape, and Social Connection determining how and why youth choose certain meals. 
  • Uncovered generational spending and behavior patterns through our study, revealing how Gen Z craves speed, digital ease, and personalization, while millennials prefer intentional, shared dining experiences.
  • Revealed a shift from food as sustenance to food as identity and self-expression, making emotional alignment with the brand more critical than ever. 

Client Impact :

Equipped with our deep and comprehensive insights, the brand was able to swiftly redesign its menu and messaging, sharpened audience targeting, and deepened brand relevance among South African youth. This helped solidify its status as a cultural mainstay—in tune with the hearts, minds, and habits of a new generation. 

Market

South Africa Flag

South Africa

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