Astron Energy has marked the rebrand of its 300th service station forecourt with the official opening of the Astron Energy Mageza Sweetwaters retail site in Sweetwater Mpumuza in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday 11 July.

The company celebrated the milestone with a day of festivities in the local community, including prize giveaways.

Astron Energy Mageza Sweetwaters is a 100% black -owned and managed enterprise, situated in Kwa Mpumuza, a peri-urban settlement in the Msunduzi Municipality.

Co-retailer Zibusile Mbambo said: “To operate a site featuring the vibrant new Astron Energy brand is a perfect fit for us as a forward-thinking business and we are delighted to be the 300th site to be rebranded to Astron Energy.”

Astron Energy has set its sights on rebranding 400 sites before the end of 2024. This will almost mark the halfway point in the mammoth task of rebranding the Caltex network to Astron Energy.

Astron Energy manages a retail network of over 800 sites across South Africa, making it the second largest network in the country.

Astron Energy General Manager: Retail Sales and Marketing, Farouk Farista said: “We have now hit the 300-site mark as Astron Energy and this takes us ahead of several other fuel brands which have been around for much longer.

“We are the new kid on the block in terms of our brand but our heritage in South Africa stretches back over a century,” he added. “We are the new brand that people can trust for service excellence, quality and innovation in the retail space.”

According to Farista, the Astron Energy brand has been well received and has sparked interest from the community and retailers alike with its bold new look and offering.

“We now see significant discussion and quick brand recognition and recall as our network and visibility continues to expand. Customers are enthusiastic about the bolder appearance in what is typically a ‘conservative’ market.”

He added that a number of competitor retailers have approached Astron Energy since the launch of the first rebranded site in August 2022.

“Our new business pipeline is growing rapidly, so much so that we need to pace ourselves in order to balance the rebranding needs of our existing network with new site opportunities.”

Astron Energy launched its distinctive new brand alongside its Quartech 4-in-1 fuel and the company’s Astron Energy rewards programme which gives customers the chance to win instant rewards instead of having to accumulate rewards points over a lengthy period of time.

Co-retailer Nompumelelo Mbambo concluded: “As Astron Energy Mageza Sweetwaters we look forward to welcoming visitors to our site to experience our exceptional service and high quality products under the distinctive Astron Energy brand.

“We are an integral part of this local community which supports us and we look forward to working hand-in-hand with our community to see where we can add value.”