Astron Energy wants to ‘surpri

Caltex stations will soon be replaced by its managing company Astron Energy. Photo: Supplied

Astron Energy wants to ‘surprise and delight’ as SA says goodbye to Caltex

The announcement that the Astron Energy will replace the much-loved Caltex marks an exciting change in the fuel industry.

Astron Energy wants to ‘surpri

Caltex stations will soon be replaced by its managing company Astron Energy. Photo: Supplied

Replacing a well-known and trusted brand like Caltex was a brave enough move, but doing it in the middle of a pandemic seems a little outrageous. Customers in SA and Botswana will soon be noticing the beloved Caltex signs disappear over the next four years, to be replaced by Astron Energy.

Since the 2018 majority acquisition of the former Chevron SA by Glencore SA Oil Investments, Astron Energy has been operating the Caltex brand under a licence agreement. 

Glencore owns 72% of Astron Energy South Africa and 100% of Astron Energy Botswana. The remaining 28% of Astron Energy South Africa is held by Off The Shelf Investments (OTS) (23%) and Astron Energy employees (5%).

ASTRON ENERGY TO OPERATE AS ONE BRAND

Astron Energy will now operate under a single brand, across more than 850 Caltex-branded service stations in SA and Botswana.

For Astron Energy’s General Manager: Marketing, Cambridge Mokanyane, the journey has only begun. “We want to build a formidable African fuel energy brand for our country.

“We’re building a bespoke fuel energy brand. In the creation of the brand, it’s a journey we’d like to take our consumers on for the next couple of years,”

Mokanyane told The South African.

To decide on a name Mokanyane said the company spoke to taxi drivers, truck drivers, customers, and partners. “They gave us their view in terms of what they think the brand should look like and what we should really consider,” he said.

READ: So long, Caltex! Why the popular fuel service is now being renamed

REBRAND A SIGNIFICANT MOVE IN THE FUEL ENERGY INDUSTRY

“Covid has had a huge impact in peoples lives but there’s been a fundamental shift in consumer behaviour, and how people interact with retail, and where people travel to and the trusted brands are the ones that people gravitated towards during Covid.”

The rebrand is seen as one of the most significant developments in the past three decades, and its a step the Astron team has been preparing for for a few years. 

“We did a lot of trend research globally, and spoke to many people, asking them what they expect from a filling station in the 21st century. There were some good ideas that came out that will enable us to differentiate ourselves in the market,” Mokanyane said.

Astron goes from managing the brand to being the brand. 

“That’s a big and fundamental change, but certain things will not change. Things like our values will not change, our people, our commitment to service excellence will not change, but what will change is the Caltex logo over the next four years will be rebranded you our new brand. It will be a process that will take four years,” Mokanyane said.

For now, the familiar partners like Freshstop and the UCount rewards programme will continue, and Mokanyane says customers can expect a few new exciting products on the market in the near future. “It will just not be about changing of a logo, and tone and feel. We will be coming with new services, we will be coming with improvements in terms of what the forecourt means,” he said, “There are certain things from Caltex we will be taking forward, like the friendly smile, the visible corners being open for you 24/7. The consumers are asking for more, and we want to surprise and delight them.”