Who owns Milky Lane?
Milky Lane is owned by Famous Brands (South Africa, JSE: FBR).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Famous Brands Integrated Annual Report 2025: Our brands, Famous Brands Limited. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Famous Brands Limited reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇿🇦 South Africa
- Origin
- 🇿🇦 South Africa
- Founded
- 1958
- Category
- Restaurants & foodservice › Quick-service restaurants › Ice cream & dessert chains
- Parent ticker
- JSE: FBR
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Milky Lane
Milky Lane is a soft-serve ice cream restaurant concept that Famous Brands calls South Africa's original. It runs seasonal specials and flavour collaborations with other brands including Bar-One, Oreo, KitKat and Nutella. The group dates the brand to 1958 and counted 132 restaurants across five markets in its 2025 integrated report, a net gain of 21.
Ownership timeline of Milky Lane
- Current owner Famous Brands [1] reported
Where Milky Lane sits in Famous Brands
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Famous Brands ownership tree →
See the full Famous Brands brand portfolio (8) →
Other brands owned by Famous Brands
Famous Brands controls 8 brands on Brandtree, 8 of them in restaurants & foodservice.
Also in restaurants & foodservice
- Coffee Couture
- Debonairs Pizza (1991)
- Fishaways (1998)
- Mugg & Bean (1996)
- Steers (1961)
- Turn 'n Tender
- Vovo Telo
Other brands in ice cream & dessert chains, and who owns them
The 9 brands in ice cream & dessert chains on Brandtree belong to 8 owners. The largest is MTY Group, with 2.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Cold Stone Creamery | MTY Group | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| Dairy Queen | Berkshire Hathaway | 🇺🇸 United States |
| La Estación | Dos Pinos | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| Helados Bon | Grupo Nutresa | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
| Ibaco | Hatsun Agro | 🇮🇳 India |
| Baskin-Robbins | Inspire Brands | 🇺🇸 United States |
| MIXUE | Mixue | 🇨🇳 China |
| SweetFrog | MTY Group | 🇨🇦 Canada |
About the owner: Famous Brands
Famous Brands is a publicly listed company headquartered in South Africa. Brandtree records 8 brands under its control, and it is listed as JSE: FBR.
South African restaurant franchisor listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (travel and leisure sector) since November 1994, when it was known as Steers Holdings Limited. Its 2025 integrated report describes a portfolio of 16 restaurant brands run through franchised, master-licensed and company-owned restaurants, backed by its own manufacturing, logistics and retail operations. It holds the South African licence for PAUL from PAUL International and so does not list PAUL as its own brand. Wimpy is operated by the group, but a separate Middle East record already exists under another owner, so Wimpy is not listed here. Debonairs Pizza in Nigeria is run by the associate UAC Restaurants and is recorded separately.
Famous Brands: full profile, brands and acquisition history →
🇿🇦 Milky Lane and other South African brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 175 brands that began in South Africa. 12 of them (7%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; Milky Lane is not one of them.
- Casa Bella — Spur Corporation 🇿🇦
- @home — TFG 🇿🇦
- Ackermans — Pepkor 🇿🇦
- Afrocentric — Sanlam 🇿🇦
- Airlink — Airlink 🇿🇦
- Albany — Tiger Brands 🇿🇦
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Milky Lane?
The parent company of Milky Lane is Famous Brands, a publicly listed company headquartered in South Africa.
Is Milky Lane South African?
Yes. Milky Lane originated in South Africa in 1958 and its owner, Famous Brands, is also headquartered in South Africa.
Is Milky Lane still owned by Famous Brands?
Yes. As of 4 October 2026, Milky Lane is still owned by Famous Brands. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Famous Brands Integrated Annual Report 2025: Our brands — Famous Brands Limited, Annual report; retrieved 4 October 2026.
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