Inside the Private Schools Where Woolworths Runs the Tuckshop in South Afric

Cape Town’s school tuckshop scene has quietly levelled up. While many parents still picture the classic tuckshop window and loose change clutched in sweaty hands, two private schools in the Western Cape are offering something different. Their tuckshops are run entirely by Woolworths Foods staff, serving the same premium snacks, sandwiches and ready meals you’d find on store shelves.

And it’s already changing how learners (and parents) think about school-day eating.

Where Woolworths Has Set Up

The first Woolworths-operated tuckshop opened in 2023 at Springfield Convent in Wynberg, inside what used to be a shipping container. This month, Curro Century City became the second school in the country to sign on, officially launching its own Woolworths tuckshop on 26 January 2026.

Both tuckshops are fully cashless. Learners pay with bank cards or the Karri App, a school payments system that has grown rapidly since launching in 2024 and now partners with over 1 500 schools nationwide.

Parents can load up to R25 000 onto the app, which Woolworths jokingly translates to around 357 chicken and bacon sandwiches. It also lets parents track spending, see menus and plan meals ahead of time.

Why Schools Are Partnering With Woolworths

Curro says its decision was driven by a desire to give learners healthier meals that are portioned for their age group and priced responsibly. Woolworths adds that the aim is to build better food habits from a young age, especially at a time when parents are increasingly conscious of nutrition and quality.

The retailer’s food division has continued to outperform the rest of the market thanks to its emphasis on premium, non-GMO ingredients and consistent quality. That reputation clearly carries weight for schools hoping to improve their food offering.

For Curro Holdings itself, the move reflects the brand’s steady evolution. What started with 28 learners in a Durbanville church in 1998 has grown into Southern Africa’s largest private education group, with more than 180 schools and over 70 000 students. The Century City campus alone hosts three Curro schools.

Cashless Tuckshops Become The New Normal

Both Woolworths tuckshops operating in schools are completely cashless, which aligns with a growing trend across South African campuses. The Karri App, designed to eliminate cash handling, sends parents real-time notifications and helps streamline school payments that used to rely heavily on envelopes and EFT references.

For Woolworths, the tuckshops also serve as a valuable testing ground. The retailer told BusinessTech it is still learning from these two pilot locations and has no confirmed plans for nationwide expansion just yet.

Behind The Numbers: Woolworths Food Is Still Growing

The tuckshop rollouts come at a time when Woolworths is navigating a mixed financial landscape. The company expects earnings per share to fall by 30 to 35 percent due to last year’s once-off profit from selling its Bourke Street property in Melbourne. Without that sale, its headline earnings are still expected to grow by up to 12 percent.

The Food division remains the star performer. It recorded turnover growth of 7 percent, continued to gain market share month by month, and saw Woolies Dash deliveries jump by 23 percent. Online food orders now make up more than 7 percent of Woolworths’ sales, helped by experiments like the After Dark delivery service through Uber Eats, which allows customers to order certain Woolworths items until midnight.

A Sign Of What School Tuckshops Might Become

While Woolworths has not yet confirmed further expansion, the model clearly taps into what modern parents want: healthier food, less cash handling, and more accountability.

If these two Cape Town tuckshops continue to perform well, it could unlock a new wave of corporate–school partnerships across the country. For now, Springfield Convent and Curro Century City are the test sites shaping what future school food might look like in South Africa.

{Source:Business Tech}

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