Hungry Lion is a South Africanfast food restaurant chain known for its fried chicken. Since its establishment in 1997, the company has expanded its operations throughout Southern Africa.
As of mid-2026, the chain operates over 550 locations in nine African countries, and employs over 10,000 people.
History
Hungry Lion opened its first restaurant in 1997 at Eikestad Mall in Stellenbosch, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It was originally a subsidiary of major South African supermarket chain Shoprite Holdings Ltd.
Following its initial success, the company open four additional locations within the same year, including two in Zambia.
Many of its first locations were attached to Shoprite stores until Hungry Lion rebranded in 2014 and switched to mostly independent locations.
In 2018, Hungry Lion was spun off from its parent company Shoprite and became an independent chain, with all stores being corporate-owned.
In 2025, Hungry Lion was the fastest growing fried chicken brand in Africa. It has over 500 locations in South Africa, Zambia, Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Mauritius.
In July 2026, Hungry Lion reported to have well exceeded its growth rate estimation back in 2024. That year, the company's CEO told investors from Standard Bank at the Africa Unlocked Conference that the fast food chain intended to open 100 stores per year going forward. However, in 2026, its expansion rate was 250 stores per year. At the time, the chain had over 500 stores across nine countries, and intended to reach a total of 750 by the end of 2026.
