How To Start Raw Foodstuff Business In Nigeria

You can never go wrong with foodstuff business, even when every other business is on hold foodstuff is always on the go. Everybody needs food to survive that is why the business will keep growing and expanding. Nigeria population helps in making foodstuff business very lucrative.

Table of Contents hide

1 How to Start Foodstuff Business in Nigeria

1.1 Capital

1.2 Identify where to buy Foodstuff

1.3 Carve a Niche

1.4 Shop

1.5 Make shelve or Table

1.6 Items needed in foodstuff business

1.7 Employ Workers

2 How to be successful in Foodstuff Business

3 Factors to consider to succeed in food business

3.1 Foodstuff and provision business

4 Conclusion

It doesn’t matter how you start whether small or big there is always profit to make. Also your location not withstanding; whether you are selling in the market or at home you will still make a head way. All you need is diligence and commitment. Quoting, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, “By 2030. The size of food and agriculture business in Africa will reach £1 trillion. So if you are thinking of how to make money, that is the sector to be in”.

These are everyday item that people buy all the time, income is guaranteed daily and sales too. People consider food stuff business to be petty and dirty. In today’s world you can make a difference, decide to make your shop neat and you will see people trooping to buy from you. Check out Dutse market or Kubwa market by Army quarters you will know that market setting has change class has been added to it.

How to Start Foodstuff Business in Nigeria

There are practical steps to take in starting foodstuff business in Nigeria whether as a; retailer, wholesaler or distributor.

Capital
Locate where you will be buying the foodstuff
Choose the foodstuff you will be selling
Get a shop
Employ workers
Make tables/shelves
Write foodstuff business plan

Capital

The amount for starting depends on the size of your market either large scale or small scale. It also depends on what you intend to sell. You can start with #5,000, #500,000 or millions. Yes, you can start with any capital you have. Source for the money from family or friends, you can save it from whatever you are doing.

Identify where to buy Foodstuff

Some people buy from village market, while others travel to the North or South to buy depending on what you are selling and location. As you progress in the business you can have phone numbers of suppliers to deliver them to you.

Carve a Niche

There is no way one person can sale every commodity in the market. Choose from the list; grains, food ingredients (spices), palm oil or groundnut oil, stock fish, tomatoes, pepper, onions, fruits, yam, potatoes, plantain, Garri, flour, confectionaries, seasoning, frozen foods, spices, fufu, Kanda, pap, vegetables, seafood (crayfish, shrimps, fish, periwinkle, snails etc). You can combine many or a few commodities for sale.
Assuming your concentration is on grains you can add groundnut oil, spices etc.

Shop

Anywhere is market provided you have buyers around. So choose a good location for foodstuff business. It can be inside market or outside the market. Although you will get buyers anywhere, it also important to position your shop where you will have more patronage. Over turn is what increases profit.

Make shelve or Table

Pay carpenter to prepare shelve or table for you to keep the foodstuffs for display. Keep chairs for customers to sit in case they are tired or too many to handle at a time, some customers can sit and wait for you. There should be a sit for you to sit down as well especially when not selling.

Foodstuff business
Raw food business — Image from nairaland

Items needed in foodstuff business

Purchase bowls,
trays,
spoons,
cups,
fridge,
freezer,
mudu,
containers,
basins,
rubbers and any other thing needed for your foodstuff business.

Employ Workers

Don’t be selfish, employ more hands to help you in the business if you have too many customers to handle at a time. Many buyers are always in hurry and wouldn’t want to waste time waiting for you to attend to all they people they came to meet. When you have helping hands customers will like to come to your shop knowing they will leave quickly

How to be successful in Foodstuff Business

Some foodstuffs are highly perishable and should be sold off as soon as possible before they become spoilt. Also, some foodstuff can only be gotten in large quantities on market days. For instance, when I used to produce plantain chips for sale, I could only buy large quantities of plantain at a cheaper price on market days.

Different food commodities are gotten from different regions. All these are factors that should be managed properly in other to succeed in food business. Don’t follow others, because Mr. A is making much sales in bread everybody tilt to bread business. Rather locate what people are in need of and breach the gap.

Factors to consider to succeed in food business

1. Sell off your foodstuff quickly. There is no need selling on higher prices when you have many competitors around. Let your price be fair and moderate you will attract many customers who will buy off your commodities.

No need hoarding goods, sometimes you will he here hoarding it whereas hustlers have sharply transport the commodity down by the time such commodities arrive they are fresh and everybody will want to go for them.

2. Understand season. Foodstuffs are seasonal, you should know the seasons for every commodity so that you can plan well. Probably this is when you need a business plan on foodstuff business. People buy down during crop season ahead of off season when they can make good profits. Business requires smartness so be smart about your foodstuff business.

3. Capital: no matter how things turn out don’t touch your capital. Make your personal expenses inside your profit, some smart persons pay themselves salary from their profits. It will help you to save, pay bills and reinvest.

4. Know where to buy what: in Akwa Ibom State traders go to Northern Cross River to buy yams, Garri, oranges, coco yam and foofoo. You can go there to buy or purchase from distributors.

5. Know your customers: find out what your customers like and satisfy them. For instance, in Delta State they people prefer Pepe yam anything other than that will be a struggle. In Akwa Ibom it is hand peeled melon, there is no chance for machine peeled melon. So understand your customer preference and stick to it.

6. Price fluctuations: some factors contributes to the rise and fall of commodity prices apart from the season. Examples of such factors incliudes, cost of transportation, shortage of commodity or scarcity. If you understand the trend you can always make your customers happy.

7.Purchase and sell more of the commodity that has higher demand and less of what is on low demand. For instance, if your location Garri attracts much sales please buy more of Garri. Don’t go and buy a bag of rice and buy Garri half bag when you know you can finish a bag of Garri in a day while rice may take like 3 days before exhausting it. So put your money where it is needed most.

8. Be neat: many customers prefer someone who is neat. Now that we have graduates in food business who are bringing class to the business, it is good you rise to the trend.

9. Package your food well. See the kind of nylon used in packaging stock fish parts, very attractive, sometimes I purchase it even when it was not on my list. You can package some foodstuffs that are always left open people who are in a hurry or like it that way will buy before you know it others will copy.

10. Be customer friendly: the importance of this cannot be overemphasized. Many have loosed potential customers because of their attitudes. And many have sustained their customers because of their friendliness.

Foodstuff and provision business

Both businesses are lucrative but it is easier for someone into provision business to add foodstuff. Check out, Malls, superstores and supermarkets. However, if you are selling grains you can add items in provision store list, such as; tin tomatoes, ketchup, bake beans, mayonnaise, milk etc.

Which foodstuff is most profitable in Nigeria? Every foodstuff is profitable but profits depend on the demand and supply power. The more foodstuff you sell, the more profits you make. What is in high demand right now is every food that is needed daily.

Conclusion

Raw food business ideas are the ones listed above. If you follow the guidelines you will succeed in your foodstuff business.

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