OK Franchise names 2026 award winners across its store network

OK Franchise has recognised 10 top-performing franchisees at its 2026 Franchisee of the Year Awards, with South African stores featuring alongside a Namibian winner. The annual event also introduced four categories, broadening recognition across the group’s store formats and product offerings.

Awards mark their 23rd year

The awards, reported on 9 November, were held in Seville, Spain. Now in their 23rd year, they recognise franchisees and stores for their contributions to the OK Franchise brand and the communities they serve.

OK Franchise’s network comprises 577 stores across South Africa, Namibia and Eswatini. That figure represents the three-country network, rather than its South African footprint alone.

The winning stores named this year span several South African provinces, including the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, Free State and Gauteng. OK Megasave Omaheke in Namibia also received recognition.

For South Africa’s franchise community, the announcement provides a view of the different retail formats operating under the OK umbrella. Recognition extends across Foods, Grocer, Express, Liquor, MiniMark and Megasave stores, while two OK Urban outlets feature among the product-focused winners.

The event’s focus was the work of franchisees and their stores, with recognition covering both format-specific achievements and particular parts of the retail offer.

Four categories join the programme

The 2026 awards introduced OK Grocer, King of Coffee, King of Fresh and King of Non-Foods as new categories. The additions reflect the group’s evolving store formats and product offerings.

OK Grocer Meyer Street in Mpumalanga was among the winners, while OK Urban Wellington in the Western Cape received King of Coffee. Another Urban-format outlet, OK Urban Glen Curve in Gauteng, won King of Fresh. OK Foods Bultfontein was named King of Non-Foods.

Together, these additions give the awards a wider scope than recognition by store format alone. Coffee, fresh products and non-foods each have a distinct place in the updated programme, alongside the existing King of Private Label award.

That distinction matters when reading the results: the list brings together stores recognised within named formats and outlets recognised for specific product categories. It is not a single ranking of all 577 stores.

The 10 winning stores

The stores recognised across the 2026 categories were:

• OK Foods Hermanus, Western Cape.
• OK Grocer Meyer Street, Mpumalanga.
• OK Express Connocks, Eastern Cape.
• OK Liquor Villiers, Free State.
• OK MiniMark Vincent, Eastern Cape.
• OK Megasave Omaheke, Namibia.
• OK Foods Atlantis, Western Cape — King of Private Label.
• OK Urban Wellington, Western Cape — King of Coffee.
• OK Urban Glen Curve, Gauteng — King of Fresh.
• OK Foods Bultfontein — King of Non-Foods.

The Western Cape features through Hermanus, Atlantis and Wellington, while the Eastern Cape is represented by Connocks and Vincent. The results therefore recognise stores in multiple locations rather than concentrating the honours in one province.

For Atlantis, the award also carried a local message. Store representative Vangeli Moustakas credited customers and the surrounding community for the King of Private Label achievement, describing the recognition as a source of pride for the town.

His response placed customers and the local community at the centre of the store’s achievement, alongside the recognition received from the franchise group.

Recognition for the people behind the stores

Stefan Gouws, general manager of OK Franchise, congratulated the winners and acknowledged franchisees across the network. He said the awards offered an opportunity to recognise the people behind the stores and their work throughout the year.

Gouws also thanked franchisees for supporting the brand’s vision and contributing to its development in an increasingly competitive retail environment.

The announcement combines recognition of individual outlets with acknowledgement of the wider franchise community. The new categories add particular visibility to coffee, fresh products and non-foods, while Atlantis’s response highlights the role of local customers.

Practical takeaway: Franchise owners reviewing the results can use the expanded categories as prompts to assess their own retail offer, while keeping customer relationships and local community support central to that review.