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Lexi’s Healthy Eatery, a South African plant-based restaurant chain led by Lexi Monzeglio, a Johannesburg-based entrepreneur and chef, has signed a definitive agreement to sell a majority stake in its business to Famous Brands, Africa’s leading QSR franchisor.
Monzeglio founded Lexi’s Healthy Eatery in 2018 with the goal of making a plant-based, more sustainable lifestyle more accessible and convenient for the community. The restaurant now has four Gauteng locations and one in Cape Town.
Monzeglio explained how Lexi’s began as a business idea in 2018 with a shared goal, a perfectly balanced partnership, and a province hungry for something new after meeting her business partner Ezio Nichele, with whom she co-founded Lexi’s Healthy Eatery.
“Everything happened very quickly. “We found the space, created a menu, opened up, and a hurricane later, we’re on restaurant number five – across two provinces as well,” she said.
The acquisition of a majority 51-percent stake in Lexi’s Healthy Eatery franchise and central kitchen operations across Africa will be funded by Famous Brands’ cash reserves.
The deal, which will be executed on Fri., April 1 represents Famous Brands’ first plant-based acquisition since it commenced operations more than 60 years ago.
The transaction kicks off the group’s three-year strategic roadmap, which includes acquiring brands with the potential to lead in their category and offer growth opportunities based on opportunities to improve existing operational efficiencies in the target business.
While discussing the investment rationale, management stated that the acquisition of Lexi’s will perfectly complement the group’s Signature Brands’ Fun Dining portfolio, providing a more comprehensive offering to landlords where the group already has a presence, as well as to existing and prospective customers.
The management team also stated that they are confident that the brand’s offering has the potential to be expanded into a quick-service restaurant format. In addition, Lexi’s products will be developed for the supermarket retail space, leveraging the group’s well-established route-to-market.
Monzeglio, the brand’s creator and developer, and her partner, Ezio Nichele, will be critical to developing the business’s strategic direction through their vision and capability.
