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South Africa recognises 12 official languages, each one a marker of who the country is and where its people come from. This Heritage Month, SASKO is asking the country to give the same kind of recognition to something eaten in almost every South African home but rarely celebrated as heritage: the sandwich.
Every September, South African brands mark Heritage Month with the same familiar symbols, a braai, a flag, a traditional recipe passed down and retold. SASKO is doing something different.
Rather than telling South Africans a heritage story, the bakery brand is asking the country to help write one by naming the 12 sandwiches that best represent South African food culture. In a bread category often shaped by habit, value and everyday routine, the campaign gives consumers a reason to see the sandwich as part of a shared national story.
The search is now open, and South Africans can share the sandwich they believe deserves official status. From the Kota, born out of Soweto’s quarter loaf trade, and the Gatsby, a Cape Flats institution built for sharing, to the bunny chow, a Durban original with its own claim to being the most talked-about sandwich in the country, the Braaibroodjie, the Boerie roll, Chicken mayo, bacon, egg and cheese, Dagwood, Chip sandwich and Vetkoek, there are many ways the country already enjoys a sandwich.
The entries will be used to help shape a people-led list of 12 official sandwiches of South Africa, giving consumers a clear reason to participate beyond the prize incentive.
“A sandwich is one of the most personal things in a South African home. Two people can open the same loaf and end up with two completely different stories,” said Mbalenhle Sithole Marketing Manager SASKO Bakeries. “We have been in this country’s kitchens for close to a century, and in that time, we have learned that we do not get to decide what South Africa eats. South Africa does. That is why we are asking people to tell us which sandwiches deserve to make the cut.”
Taking part is simple. South Africans buy any SASKO loaf, buns or rolls, scan the QR code on the pack and enter the last four digits of the barcode, then share their favourite sandwich by text or voice note. Every valid entry unlocks an instant reward and a place in the weekly and grand prize cash draws. Participants can post a photo or video of their own sandwich on social media, tagging @sasko_sa and using the hashtag #12OfficialSandwichesOfSA, for more chances to win.
The campaign offers R500 000 in total prizes, including more than 26 500 instant airtime rewards, weekly cash draws of R12 000 until 16 October 2026, and grand prizes of R20 000, R10 000 and R6 000.
“This is a brand proudly rooted in South African heritage, and one that cares about making things better by celebrating every tasty slice of our heritage,” XXXXX continued. “We are not asking the country to look backwards at us. We are asking it to look at itself, and to argue, loudly, about which sandwich deserves official status.”
J’Something will be the campaign’s public face through Heritage Month. His connection to South Africa’s food culture extends beyond his music career into the culinary and hospitality space, giving him a credible voice in a national conversation about what South Africans eat.
For a brand that has spent close to a century in South African kitchens, the search for the country’s 12 official sandwiches is an attempt to put something lasting on record: a national list, decided by the people who actually make the sandwiches, that outlasts the month it was born in.
The final list will give media, consumers and communities a timely Heritage Month talking point: which sandwich belongs on the national table, and who gets to decide.
Full terms and conditions are available at www.sasko.co.za.
About SASKO
SASKO is one of South Africa’s most trusted bakery brands, with roots stretching back to 1930. Operating across multiple bakeries nationwide, SASKO produces and distributes fresh bread and baked goods to communities across the country every day. As part of PepsiCo South Africa, SASKO is committed to operational excellence, sustained investment and the infrastructure that keeps South Africa fed. People who care make things better.
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