In the world of food, much of the focus tends to be lavished on the giants of Europe, North America and Asia. Major companies such as Nestlé and Mondelēz International dominate the headlines.
Yet it is important to understand markets in every region, and how their biggest players are shaping them.
Africa is a key area of growth for the food sector. With a young, growing population and an emerging middle class, the continent provides significant opportunities for food.
Who are the biggest African companies working in food? And which sectors do they dominate?
While it is difficult to know with certainty by revenue, as many private companies do not make financial details available, the ten below provide a snapshot into the continent’s food landscape.
1. Shoprite Holdings
Country: South Africa
Sector: Supermarkets
Group sales value for FY2025: R252.7bn (€13.6bn)
South Africa’s largest supermarket retailer, Shoprite Holdings, is also one of Africa’s biggest food companies.
Under the umbrella of Shoprite Holdings are a wide range of brands, including supermarket chains Shoprite and Checkers, specialist pet-shop brand Petshop Science and Freshmark, a fruit and veg distributor.
Shoprite Holdings operates not only in South Africa, but a wide range of African countries, including Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Mozambique, Lesotho and Eswatini.
2. Pick n Pay
Country: South Africa
Sector: Supermarkets
Annual turnover for FY 2025: R118.6bn (€6.35bn)
Another South African retail giant, Pick n Pay provides not just groceries but clothing and general merchandise as well.
It operates through both franchised and owned stores, with more than 2,600 stores in operation. It also owns discount retailer Boxer.
As well as South Africa, the company has presence in Zambia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana, and Zimbabwe, and holds a 49% share in Zimbabwean retailer TM Supermarkets.
3. Tiger Brands
Country: South Africa
Sector: FMCG
Revenue for FY 2025: R34.4bn (€1.84bn)
South African giant Tiger Brands has many recognisable brands in South African retail.
These include bread brand Albany, condiment brand Crosse and Blackwell and stock brand Benny. According to the company, Tiger Brands’ brands constitute 30% of the South African shopping basket across channels.
It has a footprint in other African countries as well, including Kenya and Cameroon.
4. Flour Mills of Nigeria
Country: Nigeria
Sector: Agrifood
Annual revenue as of 31 March 2024: ₦2.3trn (€1.5bn)
One of Nigeria’s largest agrifood companies, Flour Mills of Nigeria is more than just flour: in fact, it is made up of several business verticals.
Consumer-facing Golden Penny Foods focuses on food products, from pastas and noodles to spreads and oils. FMN Agro focuses on supporting farming, according to the company. BAGCO focuses on packaging solutions, and is, the company says, Africa’s largest polyethylene converting plant. It also plays a role in sugar through the Golden Sugar Company, and owns ports and logistics.
According to the World Economic Forum, the company is an “industry leader” in the production of flour, pasta, semolina, snacks, spreads, noodles and vegetable oils.
5. RCL Foods
Country: South Africa
Sector: Groceries and bakery
Revenue FY 2025: R26.5bn (€1.42bn)
RCL Foods produces a wide range of both branded and private label food products for the South African market.
It has brands in a number of sectors, including meat (Safari), sugar (Selati) and biscuits (Ouma). It also has a footprint in pet food with brands like Dogmor and Feline Cuisine.
It has a footprint throughout Africa with joint ventures in Eswatini and Uganda.
6. Cosumar
Country: Morocco
Sector: Sugar
Revenue FY 2024: 10.2bn Moroccan dirhams (€961.3m)
Moroccan company Cosumar is a sugar manufacturer involved in extraction, refining and packaging. According to the company, it is the only sugar operator on the Moroccan market.
The company sells a range of sugar products, in loaf, cube and granulated format.
Cosumar Group exports to around 80 countries, according to its website, both throughout Africa and in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
7. Innscor Africa
Country: Zimbabwe
Sector: FMCG
Revenue (for year ending 30 June 2025): $1.086bn (€950.25mn)
Zimbabwean company Innscor Africa is a group of light manufacturing businesses.
It is highly diversified and vertically integrated. The company mills flour and maize for snacks, operating bread lines in Harare and Bulawayo. It also farms cattle for beef and pork products. It produces dairy-based products and carbonated soft drinks. It is responsible for brands such as Amp Meats, Colcom and National Foods.
It has a footprint around Africa, including in Malawi, Angola, Zambia, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Mozambique.
8. Choppies Enterprises
Country: Botswana
Sector: Supermarkets
Group retail sales for year ending 30 June 2025: BWP 9.1bn (€587.4m)
Retailer Choppies Enterprises owns a significant chunk of Botswana’s supermarkets.
According to its website, Choppies has 287 outlets. As well as Botswana, Choppies has locations in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
According to its 2025 FY earnings, retail footfall increased by 10.5% throughout the year. As of 2012, the company had a retail market share of 36% in Botswana, according to a report by the University of Pennsylvania.
9. Dangote Group food businesses
Country: Nigeria
Sector: Sugar and food processing
Turnover full year 2025: ₦829.2bn (€526.2m) for Dangote Sugar Refinery, and ₦152.7bn (€96.9m) for Nascon
The Dangote Group is the largest conglomerate in West Africa, with fingers in many pies. Two of these pies are sugar and salt, through food processing business Nascon and its sugar refinery business.
The sugar business has 70% of market share in Nigeria, according to the company, and also serves neighbouring countries in West Africa. Nascon is responsible for salt, seasoning and spice brands, branded with the Dangote name.
Founded in 1981 by Aliko Dangote, the conglomerate also has businesses in cement, oil, cars, energy, fertiliser and real estate. Aliko Dangote is now the richest person in Africa, with a net worth of approximately $30.9bn, according to Forbes.
10. Edita Food Industries
Country: Egypt
Sector: Snacking
Revenue FY 2025: EGP 20.9 Billion (€361.8m)
Egyptian snacking company Edita Food Industries is responsible for a range of food brands, including biscuit brand Oniro, toasted snack brand Bake Rollz, and chocolate brand Freska.
The company exports products elsewhere in North Africa, including Libya, Mauritania and Morocco. It also distributes products further afield, including Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Turkey, Iraq and even Germany and the US.
Edita also produces American snack Twinkies for the Egyptian market.
