Nando’s, the South African flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken chain, is leaning on location-intelligence platform GapMaps to steer its next phase of growth across Southeast Asia, as the brand works toward 100 restaurants in Malaysia and 10 in Singapore by 2030. Rather than relying on intuition and static government datasets, the casual-dining group has embedded data-driven site selection into its daily property workflow — a shift that has reshaped how it picks new locations in two of the region’s most competitive restaurant markets.

A Data-Led Blueprint for Southeast Asia Expansion

Nando’s already operates 79 sites in Malaysia and six in Singapore, one of the deeper casual-dining footprints among Western-origin brands in the region. To scale further, the company partnered with GapMaps to bring precision to where — and where not — to open next. The platform now serves as what the property team calls a single source of truth, blending macro-level market screening with micro-level catchment analysis before anyone visits a site. For investors weighing international F&B brands entering ASEAN, the case is a useful window into how mature franchises de-risk expansion.

Inside Nando’s Malaysia and Singapore Growth Targets

The roadmap is explicit: lift Malaysia from 79 to 100 outlets and Singapore from six to 10 by 2030. The two markets demand different playbooks. In Malaysia, growth means raising restaurant density within states while pushing into smaller towns; in land-scarce, hyper-competitive Singapore, it means surgical precision on a handful of high-value sites.

From Johor Bahru to Smaller Towns

In Johor, Nando’s is moving beyond Johor Bahru into areas such as Kulai and Batu Pahat. In Sarawak, the team is exploring opportunities beyond Kuching toward Miri and Bintulu — the kind of secondary-market push that mirrors how specialty F&B concepts scale across Asia and the Gulf.

How GapMaps Location Intelligence Powers Site Selection

Nando’s applies the platform across three core areas:

• Demographic and spending insights — analysing population density, affluence and F&B spending within a catchment to confirm fit with the brand’s target customer.
• Competitor network mapping — pinpointing areas where demand is strong but competitive presence is lighter.
• Forecasting and benchmarking — projecting sales for new sites to within a ±10–20% margin.

Faster Planning and Lower Risk

The most immediate payoff has been speed. Nando’s says GapMaps has accelerated its planning cycles by as much as 40%, replacing weeks of fragmented data-gathering with an instant, consolidated market view. That efficiency lets the property team filter out weak sites early and concentrate capital on the strongest opportunities — discipline that echoes the criteria serious operators use to evaluate any expansion.

“GapMaps gave us clarity beyond gut feel, helping us pinpoint real growth opportunities.” — Shane Wong Juan Shan, Property Manager, Nando’s Malaysia

Since adopting the approach, Nando’s has opened four new stores, with six more planned for 2026, and reports that each location is performing strongly.

What Nando’s Data Strategy Signals for Asia’s Franchise Market

Nando’s reliance on granular location intelligence reflects a broader shift in how multi-unit operators approach Southeast Asia. As real-estate costs climb and consumer catchments fragment, the brands winning master-franchise and territory battles are increasingly those that treat site selection as a data science rather than a gut call. In markets such as Malaysia and Singapore, where a single poorly placed unit can erode an entire territory’s economics, the ability to forecast sales within a tight band and map competitive whitespace is becoming table stakes. The signal for regional investors is clear: location-intelligence capability is no longer a layer bolted onto a franchise system, but a core determinant of which networks can credibly hit aggressive 2030 store targets.

Source: GapMaps — Nando’s Spices Up Expansion Strategy in Asia with GapMaps