​Integrity. Excellence. Accountability.

GS1 South Africa trading as the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) is an industry association representing over 9 000 member companies in the Consumer Goods, Retail and Services sectors, which is one of the largest employers in South Africa. At the core of CGCSA's purpose is our vision to become the leading Consumer Goods industry platform for advocacy, collaboration and best practice in South Africa and across Africa.

Our Service Offering

Food Safety & Sustainability

FSSI is a leading platform for engagement and collaboration on food safety, quality, nutrition, health and wellness and related regulatory matters in Southern Africa
Consumer Goods Crime & Risk Initiative

The core mandate of CGCRI is to work together with members to mitigate against crime related risks within the retail and consumer goods industry and retail chain. This is achieved by offering a collaborative platform that addresses risks that include crime, civil disobedience, cyber-crime, bomb threats and terrorism.
Transformation, Training & Development

This platform supports transformation as a business imperative to contribute positively towards society. Positioning skills development at the core of employability.
Legal, Regulatory & Stakeholder Engagement

The role of the LRSE department is to shape the legal, regulatory and policy environment through advocacy and lobbying of key decision-makers to enable our members to trade better. We build and maintain strategic relationships with key and identified stakeholders to create an enabling environment for the viability and sustainability of the sector and our member organizations.
Global Standards & Solutions

GS1 is the leading supplier of barcodes in South Africa and the world. Our standards are the most widely used system of standards, and we offer a portfolio of services and tools to make adoption of our standards easier and more impactful for your business.

Upcoming Events

Member benefits when joining CGCSA

We help members trade better and build sustainable business through;


  • Advocacy, lobbying, engagement and collaboration on non-competitive industry matters

  • Sharing best practice standards

  • Focused regulatory and advisory services

  • Providing access to our hub of valuable industry insights

  • Ensuring alignment with global Sustainable Development Goals and the National Development Plan

Articles

Introducing Verified by GS1: Elevating Trust in Product Information for Retailers, Spaza Shops and Regulators

16 November 2023

Johannesburg, 16 November 2023 – In a first for South Africa, a new service, Verified by GS1, has been launched that will empower retailers, informal spaza shops and regulators with a reliable and verifiable source of product, company and location data. In a world driven by digital commerce, consumers, business partners, and government entities alike stand to benefit significantly from this innovative solution.






Tribute to Raymond Ackerman, founder of Pick n Pay

7 September 2023

In life, there are people who choose to take the road less travelled to build and leave a legacy that endures beyond their own generation. This aptly describes the legacy of Raymond Ackerman, the founder of retail giant Pick ‘n Pay, who sadly passed away on 7 September 2023 aged 92.






CGCSA August newsletter

31 August 2023

Our August newsletter is upon us and we share it with you with great anticipation. In it, we've outlined some important updates, activities and programmes currently being implemented through our main divisions.






CGCSA calls for swift end to the taxi strike in Western Cape

8 August 2023

The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) has expressed concern about the impact of the taxi strike in the Western Cape on the retail sector and their customers and has urged SANTACO and the Western Cape government to find an amicable way to resolve the impasse. Zinhle Tyikwe, CGCSA CEO says while it is too early to provide the financial impact of the strike to its members, the lack of reliable transport and accompanying violence that has characterised the strike is unfortunate. Equally worrying has been reports of destruction of infrastructure and looting which CGCSA believes requires decisive action by law enforcement to prevent it escalating further.






Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) wins permanent inderdict against seizure of meat analogue meat products by the department of agriculture

23 July 2023

The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) has successfully interdicted the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (the Department) and its assignee the Food Safety Agency (FSA) from seizing any meat analogue products presented for sale in South Africa, pending the outcome of the CGCSA’s application to review the decision to seize these products.






CGCSA co-chair Gareth Ackerman calls for urgent action to respond to climate change through sustainability initiatives

26 April 2023

Johannesburg, 26 April 2023 – The co-chair of the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) Gareth Ackerman today called for urgent action to come up with sustainable interventions in response to the impact of climate change, saying there is something fundamentally and morally wrong in the way the fragile eco-system and the environment is being managed. Speaking at the launch of the CGCSA’s Sustainability and Climate Change Dialogue Series, Ackerman described the..