September 2 2026 13:40
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
Shoprite announced that in August it agreed to acquire the South African coffee chain, Vida e Caffè. If you have been to an airport in South Africa, you would have seen a Vida store.
Shoprite would buy Vida’s 400 corporate and franchise stores nationwide. Vida was formed in 2001 and is led by CEO Darren Levy. Levy has worked as the CEO of Look and Listen and Spilhaus in the past. Shoprite is expanding its presence in the coffee and quick service restaurant (QSR) category.
The takeover announcement was announced in Shoprite’s results for the year to-end June 2026, which were released on Tuesday, September 1 2026.
The other acquisition Shoprite made in this period was an initial majority shareholding of the South African technology and payments company, R&A Cellular.
This acquisition was made post-financial year-end, on August 14 2026, and has given Shoprite a 51% stake in R&A Cellular.
R&A Cellular will allow Shoprite to expand its installed device base nationally across informal retailers, embedding the use of the retailer’s financial services products within the R&A Cellular ecosystem.
“These initiatives are expected to drive growth, deepen customer engagement, and extend the group’s financial services reach into the informal sector,” Shoprite said.
In addition to R&A Cellular, Shoprite acquired a 100% stake in Vida e Caffè, South Africa’s biggest coffee chain.
The Vida deal was signed on August 20 2026 and comprises Vida’s South African and non-South African operations.
Vida was founded in 2001 by two Rui Esteves and Brad Armitage, who were inspired by Portuguese coffee culture. They later brought coffee culture from other African countries including Mozambique.
Esteves and Armitage opened the first Vida e Caffè store on Kloof Street in Cape Town and expanded quickly.
By the time they opened their third store in Cavendish Square in Cape Town, Grant Dutton had joined the company as a 40% joint-venture partner.
After helping the business grow from three stores to seven, Dutton and his investment partners bought Vida from Esteves and Armitage in 2006. Vida’s store base has expanded significantly and now includes 400 corporate and franchise stores in Africa. This makes it not only South Africa’s biggest chain but the largest on the continent.
Shoprite CEO Pieter Engelbrecht said Vida has a broad and demographically diverse customer base that is supported by a range of store formats. This includes high street, forecourt, drive-thru, corporate office, airport and retail locations, and an increasingly integrated digital offering.
“This combination provides a strong platform for future growth and customer engagement. Authentic, innovative and highly relevant to evolving consumer lifestyles,” Engelbrecht said.
“Vida is a business we greatly admire, and we look forward to learning from its success while supporting its next phase of growth,” he said in a statement.
Shoprite’s share purchase agreement for Vida was executed in August 2026, and the transaction remains subject to the fulfilment of regulatory conditions.
Shoprite expects the transaction to become effective in its 2027 financial year.
alistair@propertyflash.co.za
