How To Start a Snacks Business in Nigeria
Snacks Business remains one of the most lucrative businesses in Nigeria irrespective of how bad the economy is. Have you ever thought of How To Start a Snacks Business in Nigeria? This article will educate you on what you need to get started including the reason why you should start one.
Snacks are any informal food that can be taken in between normal meals or eaten temporarily before normal food. Most snacks are produced mainly with flour. Some of those snacks include puff puff, doughnut, egg roll, fish roll, meat pie, Akara, and many others. you can also make pepperoni bread.
Selling of Snacks can fetch you thousands of naira monthly If done well. It has many numerous advantages which makes it lucrative. Apart from the fact that you can start the business with a low capital(as low as N20,000), it has a high-profit rate with a large market.
Almost everyone takes snacks for different reasons. Ranging from busy business owners to employees to children going to school to organizations to events like birthdays, get-together parties, and many others who need it.
Now that we understand how lucrative and high-yielding the business is. Below is a list of steps on how to start your own Snacks business in Nigeria.
Steps to Start Snacks Business in Nigeria
Before starting any business whether snacks or food-related or something different entirely, it is important to make your research. So, the first step to start any Snacks business in Nigeria is;
1. Market Research
You can do market research by simply asking questions about the proposed snacks business. Either from competitors who are already in the business, friends, and people living in your area on snacks they preferred.
From the research, you will be able to know and estimate the amount possible to start the business, buy equipment, and other things needed. This will go a long way to help you get started. Below is the list of snacks businesses you can go into.
- Cakes
- Doughnuts
- Chin chin
- Sausage Roll
- Meat Pie
- Fish roll
- Egg roll
- Akara
- Puff Puff
- Buns
- Fried Yam
- Plaintain Chips and so on.
2. Get the Required Training
There is a popular saying that goes thus “What is worth doing at all is worth doing well”. This applies greatly to your proposed snacks business. It’s when your product is of good quality that you will get and retain a good number of them.
So we advised that you learn how to make the snacks of your choice greatly either from a professional caterer, friends who know about it before embarking on it. This would not only give you the experience desired but saves you a lot of headaches and time that comes with figuring it out all by yourself.
3. Capital Needed/Money
After researching your proposed snacks business, you should have an idea of the amount roughly needed. The second step will also help to validate your estimate.
Once you know the amount needed, you can then think of where to get the capital from. Either from your savings, loans from friends or family, or even seeking from a microfinance bank.
Note: we advise you to start small and you can later expand your business depending on your capability.
4. Equipment and Ingredients
By now, you will have to know the required ingredients and equipment needed for your snacks business. Below is the list of basic materials we think you will need.
Ingredients
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Yeast
- Salt
- Margarine
- Flavour eg Nutmeg
- Water
- Oil
- Milk
- Sugar and Saccharine
Equipment Needed
- Baking utensils eg. frying pot and oven
- Bowls
- Rod(to stir)
- Rolling pin
- Fork/ Spoon
- Table or flat surface
- Show glass
- Packaging materials
- Tray
- Source of fire
Note: You can add or remove from the abovelisted equipment or ingredients depending on the snacks of your choice.
5. Location
This is one of the steps that will determine the success of your business. The location has a lot of impacts on any business. With the extensive research done by you, you will have to find out where your target market is. Snacks business thrives most injunctions, parks, bus stops, and other areas where there are a lot of crowds.
Depending on you and the type of snacks chosen, you can also take your snacks to your target consumers’ place of work. For example, you can take your packaged chin chin busines to banks, schools, churches, organizations, supermarkets for patronage.
6. Creativity
In every lucrative business; there will always be sets of those making the money and those making mouths(complaining). The difference between those people will be creativity, tricks, and tips used by each of them.
You need to apply creativity in whatever snacks business you need to do. Make research on what you think your competitors are not doing well and use it to improve your own snacks business.
It may be adding unique ingredients or even packaging your goods in a different manner. For example, instead of selling chin chin in the normal way, you can decide to choose a name for yours, register your product with NAFDAC and obtain a NAFDAC number for it. Start supplying to supermarkets, organizations, and other large customers of your products. Whatever you intend to do, Just be creative and find ways to sell more than your competitors.
Tips to Make Your Snacks Business Successful
Like every other business, Snacks business in Nigeria takes a lot of effort, time, and energy with the right skills and mindset to make it a success. Below are some tips to help make the right choice.
1. Ensure your product is of good quality and maintain a clean environment.
2. attractively package your product.
3. Interact and communicate with your customers in a respectful manner
4. Be consistent with your products in all spheres.
5. Keep records and audit your business
6. Buy what is necessary and needed for the growth of your business
7. Market your product regularly
8. Register your snacks business if necessary.
With all the above tips and steps on snacks business in Nigeria, we are convinced that your business will be successful if applied. We look forward to hearing about your business growth.
