SPAR – South African trademarks
Updated 8 November 2026
The SPAR Group is a JSE-listed wholesaler and distributor that supplies independently owned SPAR supermarkets, TOPS at SPAR liquor stores and Build it hardware stores, and sells its own SPAR-branded products.
How SPAR has built and protected its brands in South Africa – its trademark portfolio, where it expanded, how quickly its marks are registered, and who it competes with.
Download report (PDF)SPAR trademarks in 45 seconds
Watch the video on its own page, with transcript – https://snz.co.za/trademark-country-selection-direct/spar-south-african-trademarks/overview-video.html
A portfolio built over time
SPAR filed its first South African trademark in 1952 and has filed 565 since; its busiest year was 2014, with 51 new filings. The chart shows its filings per year from 1970.
Trademarks by filing year, up to 2024; applications still pending are not included.
The names behind the portfolio
Over the years the group has filed under several names – earlier company names, holding companies and subsidiaries. We count them together.
| Name | Marks | Filing years |
|---|---|---|
| Spar South Africa | 282 | 1952–2024 |
| SPAR | 280 | 1960–2025 |
| Spar | 19 | 1963–1995 |
| Spar International | 7 | 2013–2017 |
| Spar Trademarks | 4 | 2003–2003 |
Where SPAR expanded its business
Trademark classes show what a business sells. SPAR's portfolio is concentrated in advertising & retail (class 35), meat, dairy & oils (class 29), coffee, flour & sweets (class 30). Its most recent moves were into leather & bags (2024), lighting & appliances (2018), machines (2014).
SPAR trademarks: expansion into trademark classes, 1970–2025
Watch the video on its own page, with transcript – https://snz.co.za/trademark-country-selection-direct/spar-south-african-trademarks/class-expansion-video.html
Each tile is a class; it lights up when the group first files in it and darkens with more filings; the dots show how many of its closest rivals also file in that class. The chart compares the number of classes used with its rivals. The video runs from 1970; classes entered earlier are lit from the start.
| Class | Marks | Share | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35 Advertising & retail | 88 | 15.6% | 1981 |
| 29 Meat, dairy & oils | 69 | 12.2% | 1960 |
| 30 Coffee, flour & sweets | 63 | 11.2% | 1960 |
| 32 Beer & soft drinks | 38 | 6.7% | 1966 |
| 3 Cosmetics & cleaning | 29 | 5.1% | 1960 |
| 33 Wines & spirits | 29 | 5.1% | 1952 |
| 31 Fresh produce & pet food | 28 | 5.0% | 1960 |
| 5 Pharmaceuticals | 24 | 4.2% | 1960 |
The brands SPAR protects most
The word marks and logo names SPAR has filed most often – the same brand filed in more classes, in more versions or again over the years.
| # | Brand | Trademarks | Classes | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SPAR | 39 | 22 | 1960–2017 |
| 2 | GOOD LIVING | 27 | 12 | 2006–2024 |
| 3 | BUILD IT | 21 | 8 | 1984–2022 |
| 4 | TRENDIY | 18 | 9 | 2014–2014 |
| 5 | BASIX | 13 | 7 | 2019–2024 |
| 6 | ON THE GO | 12 | 6 | 2012–2012 |
| 7 | SAVEMOR | 10 | 5 | 1998–2024 |
| 8 | DOUBLE MONEY BACK QUALITY GUARANTEED | 9 | 9 | 2014–2014 |
| 9 | TOPS AT SPAR | 9 | 6 | 2008–2015 |
| 10 | R REWARDS MORE FOR YOU | 8 | 4 | 2023–2023 |
| 11 | THE FOOD STALL AT SPAR | 8 | 4 | 2022–2022 |
| 12 | FRESHLINE | 6 | 6 | 1997–2016 |
| 13 | ROYAL | 6 | 5 | 2020–2023 |
| 14 | SPAR FRESH LINE | 6 | 4 | 1996–1996 |
| 15 | BEAN TREE | 6 | 3 | 2014–2014 |
Logos filed most often (since 2020)
SPAR's logos
The 18 different logos SPAR has had published since 2020 – each logo shown once, however many classes or versions it was filed in. Logos protected in more classes come first.
How quickly its trademarks are registered
Over the last five years, SPAR's marks took a median of 2.0 years from filing to registration, faster than the market's 2.7 years. Most of that time is examination: 1.4 years from filing to acceptance (market: 1.9). Registration itself follows about half a year after acceptance.
Median years from filing to registration per registration year, split into examination (filing → acceptance) and acceptance → registration; the dashed line is the market median. A high recent value means older applications came through that year.
Who files the most in SPAR's classes
Ranked by number of trademarks filed in SPAR's main classes – any company that files there, whatever else it does (including retailers' own brands). This shows SPAR's market position, not who is most like it.
In the last five years, SPAR was #23 of 5,866 filers in class 35 (advertising & retail), with 21 of 11,124 trademarks; #19 of 919 filers in class 29 (meat, dairy & oils), with 12 of 2,013 trademarks; #32 of 1,368 filers in class 30 (coffee, flour & sweets), with 11 of 3,209 trademarks.
SPAR's share of all trademarks filed in each of its main classes, per filing year.
Top trademark filers in class 35 (advertising & retail), South Africa 1975–2024: SPAR
Watch the video on its own page, with transcript – https://snz.co.za/trademark-country-selection-direct/spar-south-african-trademarks/class-35-race-video.html
Main competitors – the companies most like SPAR
Ranked by how similar their whole trademark portfolio is to SPAR's – the same mix of classes and the same words in their marks – not by size. Large filers in its classes that do something different rank lower here.
SPAR's closest competitors in South Africa are Shoprite, Pick n Pay, Woolworths and Food Lovers.
SPAR trademarks vs competitors: filings per year, 2010–2024
Watch the video on its own page, with transcript – https://snz.co.za/trademark-country-selection-direct/spar-south-african-trademarks/competitors-video.html
Trademark filings per year: SPAR (orange) and its five closest competitors.
| # | Company | Relationship | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shoprite | Direct competitor | 93% |
| 2 | Pick n Pay | Direct competitor | 90% |
| 3 | Woolworths | Direct competitor | 82% |
| 4 | Food Lovers | Direct competitor | 79% |
| 5 | Massmart | Direct competitor | 69% |
| 6 | Libstar | 82% | |
| 7 | Tiger Brands | 75% | |
| 8 | Clover | 69% | |
| 9 | RCL Foods | 69% | |
| 10 | DH Brothers Industries | 68% |
Similarity of trademark activity since 2015 (classes and words used in marks). Retailers appear where their own brands compete on the shelf.
SPAR – relevant export countries
South Africa exported US$4.5 billion of the goods SPAR's main classes cover in the last year – meat; fish; jams; milk (class 29); coffee; bread; sugar; spices (class 30); beer; fruit juices; syrups; mineral and aerated waters (class 32); cosmetics; essential oils; soaps; perfumery (class 3); wine; alcoholic beverages; beer; alcoholic preparations (class 33). Combining where these goods are exported, imported, growing and made (and copied), and what protection costs, these are the markets where SPAR's trademarks matter most.
Where South Africa exports SPAR's top goods
SPAR's trademarks most often cover meat, coffee, cosmetics, beer and wine. South Africa's ten largest export markets for these goods took 56% of its exports of them in 2024.
South Africa's exports of each good to the country in 2024 (US$ million). The goods are the ones SPAR's specifications mention most in its main classes; the figures are national exports, not the company's own sales.
Adjust the weightings
These weightings decide how the countries below are ranked. Change any value and the others adjust to keep the total at 100%.
Worldwide
| # | Market | Score | SA exports | Import growth / yr | Route | Cost, 5 classes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | European Union | 83 | US$755 m | +5% | National | US$2,388 |
| 2 | United States of America | 74 | US$260 m | +1% | National | US$3,425 |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 73 | US$268 m | +6% | National | US$1,371 |
| 4 | China | 71 | US$87 m | -9% | National | US$1,224 |
| 5 | Japan | 64 | US$40 m | -4% | National | US$1,774 |
| 6 | Hong Kong SAR | 58 | US$19 m | +2% | National | US$1,715 |
| 7 | Russian Federation | 57 | US$13 m | +4% | National | US$1,915 |
| 8 | Nigeria | 56 | US$28 m | -1% | National | US$1,015 |
| 9 | Singapore | 56 | US$20 m | -1% | National | US$2,144 |
| 10 | Republic of Korea | 56 | US$65 m | -4% | National | US$4,951 |
Africa
| # | Market | Score | SA exports | Import growth / yr | Route | Cost, 5 classes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nigeria | 56 | US$28 m | -1% | National | US$1,015 S&Z |
| 2 | Mozambique | 56 | US$278 m | +7% | ARIPO | US$450 S&Z |
| 3 | Lesotho | 56 | US$185 m | +1% | National | US$326 |
| 4 | Botswana | 56 | US$413 m | -12% | ARIPO | US$450 S&Z |
| 5 | Zimbabwe | 54 | US$214 m | +2% | ARIPO | US$450 S&Z |
| 6 | OAPI (17 states) | 54 | US$26 m | +11% | National | US$1,563 S&Z |
| 7 | Malawi | 53 | US$52 m | +20% | ARIPO | US$450 S&Z |
| 8 | Egypt | 52 | US$12 m | +2% | National | US$2,278 |
| 9 | Tunisia | 50 | US$774 k | +32% | National | US$1,440 |
| 10 | Algeria | 50 | US$384 k | +19% | National | US$1,445 |
SA exports = South Africa's exports of these goods to the market in the last year. Ranked with the default weightings. Score 0–100 from South Africa's exports of the goods to the market, net imports, import growth, foreign trademark filings, where the goods are made, market size and the cost of protection. Costs are total fees (official and professional) to file in 5 classes; ARIPO costs are per country, plus US$301 once per ARIPO application; S&Z = S&Z's own all-in price. Goods are taken from the classes and specifications, so the ranking is indicative.
Trade data: CEPII BACI (version 202601, trade flows 2022–2024), Licence Etalab 2.0; aggregated and combined with other data by S&Z.
Protecting its top brands in Nigeria and OAPI with S&Z
| Brand | Classes | Nigeria | OAPI (17 states) |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPAR | 22 | US$4,466 | US$4,703 |
| GOOD LIVING | 12 | US$2,436 | US$2,856 |
| BUILD IT | 8 | US$1,624 | US$2,117 |
| TRENDIY | 9 | US$1,827 | US$2,302 |
| BASIX | 7 | US$1,421 | US$1,932 |
S&Z all-in prices per brand in its number of classes, filing to registration.
TM Country Selection Rank the countries for your own goods and get the quotes.
Word marks you may have considered opposing
For SPAR's five most-filed brands: word marks of other companies (not SPAR's own group) that our similar word mark search, SimTM, found in the brand's own classes, and that we consider confusingly similar – from the earliest match found to today.
Similar to SPAR (classes 29, 30, 32, 33, 35; no close matches in the search)
No confusingly similar marks of other companies found.
Similar to GOOD LIVING (classes 35, 29, 30, 32, 33; searched 2018-05-30 to 2026-11-08)
No confusingly similar marks of other companies found in this period.
Similar to BUILD IT (classes 2, 6, 8, 11, 16, 19, 35, 42; searched 2018-02-28 to 2026-11-08)
No confusingly similar marks of other companies found in this period.
Similar to TRENDIY (class 35; searched 2018-01-31 to 2026-11-08)
No confusingly similar marks of other companies found in this period.
Similar to BASIX (classes 2, 6, 8, 11, 16, 35, 39; searched 2018-06-27 to 2026-11-08)
No confusingly similar marks of other companies found in this period.
Similarity of the words only. Whether a mark could have been opposed depends on the goods and services, the reputation of the brand and the facts – S&Z can advise. New marks like these are what SimTM watch reports as they are published.
How S&Z can help you
S&Z does not just file trademarks. We are a technology-first firm that manages trademarks – analysing your data, monitoring competitors and making sure your trademark assets remain protected.
We manage your trademarks – not just file them
Analysing your data, monitoring competitors and making sure your trademark assets remain protected:
Filing and renewal at fixed, all-inclusive prices
S&Z prices – South African trademarks
| Filing, first class – incl. official fee, examination report, routine office action, acceptance, publication, registration and e-certificate | US$240 |
| Each additional class of the same mark, filed at the same time | US$225 |
| Renewal online, per class (every 10 years from filing) | R1,027 ≈ US$62.29 |
Renewal in rand; US$ at R16.49 per US$.
SPAR's next five years of renewals
205 of SPAR's registered marks reach their ten-year renewal date in 2027–2031. Renewed online with S&Z, that costs about US$12,768 over the five years.
SPAR: frequently asked questions
What should SPAR consider for its trademarks?
- Where to file next: its goods sell strongly in Nigeria, Mozambique and Botswana – markets where South African exports of the same goods are large or growing, and where S&Z files at its own all-in prices (see “SPAR – relevant export countries”).
- Possible gaps: its competitors also protect class 27 (carpets), class 10 (medical devices) – worth checking against what the business sells or plans to sell.
- Fewer new brands: new brand names fell from 8.8 to 5.8 a year – worth reviewing whether planned launches are being protected early enough.
- Renewals and use: keep track of the ten-year renewal dates and of marks that are no longer used – unused marks can be challenged after five years, and some may no longer be worth renewing.