A lot of advancement has taken place in the baking industry. In the contemporary setting more bakeries have migrated from Firewood and Charcoal energy sources to Electricity, LPG (Propane) or Diesel.

Electricity is a very clean energy source but quite expensive in Nigeria especially when you consider the added cost of using a Three phase Diesel generator. Only established bakeries who are producing optimally can run a full electric operation. It is a very expensive option but also very reliable.
I should mention here that there are some myths that indicate that the electric oven is the best option for commercial baking because of a number of factors.

We can address this matter much later but for now let us review other energy sources.

The use of Butane or LPG is very popular especially here in Nigeria where we have a very serious challenges with power generation, transmission and distribution. The greater majority of bakers adopt the LPG version for reasons bordering on cost of operation.
Please note that the electric option is the cheapest in terms of acquisition but perhaps the most expensive in terms of operation.


Another option that has been available in recent times is the diesel powered oven.
This oven runs on a diesel burner. This is what produces the heat energy that is required to cook the bread. So diesel oil (AGO) is actually the source of energy. It is important to note that with the recent increase in the price of diesel locally resulting from the liberalization of that market the choice of this option must be considered objectively before being chosen.
I would also like to add that the diesel option is only available for the Rotary type ovens and so small starters with a small investment plan may not afford the initial outlay required to acquire this technology.

Finally, the last thing to consider when analyzing energy sources is to mention the developmental strides in technology which has birthed a dual energy oven type (again this is for heavy investors). This kind of oven is designed to use either of two energy sources; Electricity and Gas or Electricity and Diesel.

For a country like Nigeria you can already deduce the advantages. In the event of Gas or Diesel scarcity you can resort to Electricity. It can also save your day in the event where either of the equipment is bad and needs some repair, you can then resort to the other while waiting to effect the repairs.

Sir, I suggest you add the estimate prices of the equipment as you list them...it will help sir.
Thanks

Brilliant thread!

ONNYX:
A lot of advancement has taken place in the baking industry. In the contemporary setting more bakeries have migrated from Firewood and Charcoal energy sources to Electricity, LPG (Propane) or Diesel.

Electricity is a very clean energy source but quite expensive in Nigeria especially when you consider the added cost of using a Three phase Diesel generator. Only established bakeries who are producing optimally can run a full electric operation. It is a very expensive option but also very reliable.
I should mention here that there are some myths that indicate that the electric oven is the best option for commercial baking because of a number of factors.

We can address this matter much later but for now let us review other energy sources.

The use of Butane or LPG is very popular especially here in Nigeria where we have a very serious challenges with power generation, transmission and distribution. The greater majority of bakers adopt the LPG version for reasons bordering on cost of operation.
Please note that the electric option is the cheapest in terms of acquisition but perhaps the most expensive in terms of operation.


Another option that has been available in recent times is the diesel powered oven.
This oven runs on a diesel burner. This is what produces the heat energy that is required to cook the bread. So diesel oil (AGO) is actually the source of energy. It is important to note that with the recent increase in the price of diesel locally resulting from the liberalization of that market the choice of this option must be considered objectively before being chosen.
I would also like to add that the diesel option is only available for the Rotary type ovens and so small starters with a small investment plan may not afford the initial outlay required to acquire this technology.

Finally, the last thing to consider when analyzing energy sources is to mention the developmental strides in technology which has birthed a dual energy oven type (again this is for heavy investors). This kind of oven is designed to use either of two energy sources; Electricity and Gas or Electricity and Diesel.

For a country like Nigeria you can already deduce the advantages. In the event of Gas or Diesel scarcity you can resort to Electricity. It can also save your day in the event where either of the equipment is bad and needs some repair, you can then resort to the other while waiting to effect the repairs.

Where can I purchase flour produced by the local flour millers?. Are they cheaper and good for bread production.

Ollyt75:
Sir, I suggest you add the estimate prices of the equipment as you list them...it will help sir.
Thanks

I really wouldn't like to do that here for a number of reason;

The prices of all equipment are dependent on a number of variables including but not limited to the following,

The place pf purchase;
Local or foreign.
If local is it in Alaba International or is it in Abuja, Onitsha or Port Harcourt, Aba or Kano?

If foreign are you sourcing from South Africa, Europe, USA?

State of Equipment;
Are you buying new, factory reconditioned, certified pre-owned or outright used?

Brand
Are you a premium brand aficionado or just any brand will do?

What specific add-ons would you like to enrich the product. For instance, some contemporary ovens now come with steamers which help in enhancing the overall quality of the bread produced.

Do you prefer locally fabricated or you insist on foreign standardized specs?

Again the prices differ from time to time depending of course on the relative strength of the local currency vis a vis the Benjamins.

From the above, you will agree with me that giving an idea of prices for the equipment is quite difficult.

I may be willing to advise behind the scenes on how to go about the acquisition of the equipment. This is not the purpose of the thread but a sincere request like that could be accommodated privately without derailing the thread or redirecting our focus.

I hope this will be well taken.

dbynonetwork:


Where can I purchase flour produced by the local flour millers?. Are they cheaper and good for bread production.

I cannot direct you here as regards where you can get locally milled flour. That would amount to unsolicited and unpaid advertisement.
I can however state clearly that there are several local flour millers in Nigeria and depending on your location you could get the ones that can meet your order requirements and specifications.

On the question of being better, I cannot say outright. Flour Milling is a simple blending process. The desired output quality is predetermined and then the blending ratio is build towards ensuring that the projected quality is attained. Please note that in as much as you can as a novice go to the local shop and request for baking or bread flour, what you will likely be given is 'general' or 'all purpose' flour.

This is the limitation in the industry. I will however bring to your notice that here in Nigeria the big brands usually have two different types of flour Hard Wheat flour which is blended for regular bread purposes and the Soft version flour which could be be blended under different tags like 'Soft biscuit' or 'Confectionery'.

May I add that when your bakery has grown significantly, you can actually have your flour type configured and blended to meet your expectations thus resulting in a totally different product from what obtains in the market. Flour is the base of the product and all other ingredients are based and calculated using flour as a base, it therefore means that if your flour quality is deficient it your product will definitely be deficient. This also brings to fore the question as regards why the market seems to me saturated with bread. Please take this as very important. It will go a long way in determining the success of your business.

When starting your bakery, the standard is to poach some bakery staff who will come and replicate the recipe and processes used by their previous employers. I am sure you know that it is most likely also that the previous employers also copied that recipe from someone else. So in a given town almost all the breads will taste the same.

This is a terrible scenario and it is an archaic red ocean strategy that only results in sharks devouring lesser amphibians and turning the ocean red. You need to adopt a blue ocean strategy in entering and remaining in the market. Yes, equipment is important but after procuring your equipment please dedicate a some amount of resources towards research and development. This is where the true difference lies.
In Abuja there is a particular bread (family sized) bread which sells at NGN 500.00 as against the regular 250-350 band. Surprisingly, some people drive around looking for this bread when they could as well buy what is nearest to them. As we speak now I know that a new distributor registered there and buys a truck load of that bread and takes it to Lokoja every afternoon.

Please emphasize the differential principle.

ONNYX:


I cannot direct you here as regards where you can get locally milled flour. That would amount to unsolicited and unpaid advertisement.
I can however state clearly that there are several local flour millers in Nigeria and depending on your location you could get the ones that can meet your order requirements and specifications.

On the question of being better, I cannot say outright. Flour Milling is a simple blending process. The desired output quality is predetermined and then the blending ratio is build towards ensuring that the projected quality is attained. Please note that in as much as you can as a novice go to the local shop and request for baking or bread flour, what you will likely be given is 'general' or 'all purpose' flour.

This is the limitation in the industry. I will however bring to your notice that here in Nigeria the big brands usually have two different types of flour Hard Wheat flour which is blended for regular bread purposes and the Soft version flour which could be be blended under different tags like 'Soft biscuit' or 'Confectionery'.

May I add that when your bakery has grown significantly, you can actually have your flour type configured and blended to meet your expectations thus resulting in a totally different product from what obtains in the market. Flour is the base of the product and all other ingredients are based and calculated using flour as a base, it therefore means that if your flour quality is deficient it your product will definitely be deficient. This also brings to fore the question as regards why the market seems to me saturated with bread. Please take this as very important. It will go a long way in determining the success of your business.

When starting your bakery, the standard is to poach some bakery staff who will come and replicate the recipe and processes used by their previous employers. I am sure you know that it is most likely also that the previous employers also copied that recipe from someone else. So in a given town almost all the breads will taste the same.

This is a terrible scenario and it is an archaic red ocean strategy that only results in sharks devouring lesser amphibians and turning the ocean red. You need to adopt a blue ocean strategy in entering and remaining in the market. Yes, equipment is important but after procuring your equipment please dedicate a some amount of resources towards research and development. This is where the true difference lies.
In Abuja there is a particular bread (family sized) bread which sells at NGN 500.00 as against the regular 250-350 band. Surprisingly, some people drive around looking for this bread when they could as well buy what is nearest to them. As we speak now I know that a new distributor registered there and buys a truck load of that bread and takes it to Lokoja every afternoon.

Please emphasize the differential principle.

Thank you brother.... I am a newbie in the industry and I have decided to follow a particular standard... I really appreciate your effort in educating NAIRALANDERS on the on available opportunity in the bakery industry...
I would like to communicate more with you..

We will now continue the discourse on Ovens.

We shall analyze the two major heat dissemination typologies; Conduction and Convection.

Lets start with Conduction.
Conduction heating is a process in which heat travels directly from a surface like an iron bar/sheet. hot stone or deck to the dough as contained in a bread pan or sheet pan.
Essentially, deck ovens; single, double and triple deck ovens use this type of heating method.

Many start-up bakeries use the deck oven primarily because of its reasonably affordable initial capital outlay.

The convection Oven is a delight to have when one is into commercial baking. It is a simple but effective and efficient baking method.
It simply bakes your bread faster by using a fan to circulate the heat faster and more EVENLY.

The emphasis here is evenly. The most contemporary convection oven we have in this industry is the rotary oven. This is a heavy but serious equipment that will ensure that your bread comes out wonderfully and very even. Apart from the fact that a fan is circulating the heat within the baking chamber the trays/trolley sits on a rotating spool that ensure that alls the products have the same heat exposure.

As expensive as it is, if you buy the right time it will last over twenty years and will give you immense satisfaction through efficiency. It is also a sturdy equipment and rarely breaks down. Some bakeries have used this technology continuously 24/7 for over ten years without any major damage. You can have a variety of energy sources for the oven but the best option is the dual energy source where you can combine electricity with either diesel or gas.

ONNYX:
The convection Oven is a delight to have when one is into commercial baking. It is a simple but effective and efficient baking method.
It simply bakes your bread faster by using a fan to circulate the heat faster and more EVENLY.

The emphasis here is evenly. The most contemporary convection oven we have in this industry is the rotary oven. This is a heavy but serious equipment that will ensure that your bread comes out wonderfully and very even. Apart from the fact that a fan is circulating the heat within the baking chamber the trays/trolley sits on a rotating spool that ensure that alls the products have the same heat exposure.

As expensive as it is, if you buy the right time it will last over twenty years and will give you immense satisfaction through efficiency. It is also a sturdy equipment and rarely breaks down. Some bakeries have used this technology continuously 24/7 for over ten years without any major damage. You can have a variety of energy sources for the oven but the best option is the dual energy source where you can combine electricity with either diesel or gas.

Why do some bakeries change the quality of bread they produce... They enter enter the market with good tasting loaves, but later they begin to produce and package "agege bread" or low quality bread..

I am presently working on a contract with the U.N. and can no longer run my bakery. I would like to sell off all my bakery equipment (big bread oven, 20 ltrs mixer, Large stainless working table, and big showcase chiller for just 500,000 Naira. The big showcase transparent chiller only goes for a hundred thousand Naira. This is a bakery I set up with about 7 million Naira in the year 2014. Interested buyers should send me a p.m.

4tunebest:
I am presently working on a contract with the U.N. and can no longer run my bakery. I would like to sell off all my bakery equipment (big bread oven, 20 ltrs mixer, Large stainless working table, and big showcase chiller for just 500,000 Naira. The big showcase transparent chiller only goes for a hundred thousand Naira. This is a bakery I set up with about 7 million Naira in the year 2014. Interested buyers should send me a p.m.

I have a mixer.. How much would you sell the oven?...

dbynonetwork:


I have a mixer.. How much would you sell the oven?...

Shouldn't you be asking questions more specifically as the OP instructed us on this thread. An oven is not just an oven.

Refer to the post on ovens and their characteristics.

4tunebest:
I am presently working on a contract with the U.N. and can no longer run my bakery. I would like to sell off all my bakery equipment (big bread oven, 20 ltrs mixer, Large stainless working table, and big showcase chiller for just 500,000 Naira. The big showcase transparent chiller only goes for a hundred thousand Naira. This is a bakery I set up with about 7 million Naira in the year 2014. Interested buyers should send me a p.m.

Location

@ONNYX
Sir milling machine and dough sheeter are they the same??

OP what's up?

No updates for a while.

Whats happening?

More grease to your fingers and of course ink to your pen.

Looking forward to an update soon.

dbynonetwork:


Why do some bakeries change the quality of bread they produce... They enter enter the market with good tasting loaves, but later they begin to produce and package "agege bread" or low quality bread..

Two angles may be used to view this anomaly.

The more popular one among consumers is that the baker is interested in maximising profits through cutting costs thereby undermining the customer. This does happen at times primarily because the baker seeks to ensure that he makes ends meet and possibly even turn a healthy profit. In the extreme of cases he sometimes also takes it a bit too far by disregarding the expectations of his customers by really scaling down on quality.

But there is another dimension that should also be considered;
All around the world, the baker is a blender of sorts. He organizes different raw materials and blends them together using a preferred and established format in order to bring about the product that will keep the consumer happy and loyal. Sometimes things fall out of hand and he really cannot help the dimensions things will then assume.

Sometimes the culprit is not the baker per se but a drop in the quality of the individual ingredient batch he has purchased.

So sometimes, you can actually have a drop in quality of the major ingredient and this will go a long way to undermine the overall product quality and remember that raw materials are usually bought in large quantities so in many cases the original quality may only be re-attainable after that obnoxious batch has been replaced.

I really appreciate this thread because it has really giving me basic knowledge of the industry. What I want this thread to touch is the selling price of the bread to distributors and the final retailers and the cost of production from the bakery. How many bread can we get from 50kg bag with each sizes of breads. Knowing this will help us to do the sales forecast and also help in preparing a good business plan for it especially for the newbies and those who will eventually want go into it whether it is profitable to venture or not.

Update plllllssssssss

Ollyt75:
@ONNYX
Sir milling machine and dough sheeter are they the same??

Dough Milling is as stage in the bread making proces that allows the different ingredients in bread dough to be integrated together. It is a repetitive process aimed at making the dough elastic and ready for fermentation.

A dough Sheeter on the other hand just does what its name implies. It sheets out the dough. For the purposes of this thread which is essentially about bread making, I would like to inform you that the dough sheeter is not a very necessary equipment unless you are making a special kind of bread like flat breads. Its function is limited to ensuring that the dough is sheeted out properly for cutting. It is a more useful tool in the making of certain types of pastry products like croissants, pizza, beef rolls(gala etc) and chin-chin.

I hope this explains it enough.

Oktane:
OP what's up?

No updates for a while.

Whats happening?

More grease to your fingers and of course ink to your pen.

Looking forward to an update soon.

Thanks for your understanding!

I have been very busy in the last few weeks.

clensman:
I really appreciate this thread because it has really giving me basic knowledge of the industry. What I want this thread to touch is the selling price of the bread to distributors and the final retailers and the cost of production from the bakery. How many bread can we get from 50kg bag with each sizes of breads. Knowing this will help us to do the sales forecast and also help in preparing a good business plan for it especially for the newbies and those who will eventually want go into it whether it is profitable to venture or not.

Interesting questions.

I intend that we deal with some of your questions subsequently as we progress. We will treat pricing, sales strategy, distribution network building/sustenance, retailers profitability.

I cannot approach all of them at the same time and again I do have a very demanding day job/responsibilities.

Under pricing we will get the volume of bread that is the expected output from every bag of flour.
On profitability, I can tell you that there are very few businesses that have the profit potential as bread and the bakery business.
there are however intrigues that come into play. It is these intrigues that determine the success of one bakery and the failure of the next one. We will also attempt to examine these variables as march on.

lifenajeje:
Update plllllssssssss

I am happy to observe that some people are following and that this thread may become useful to even one person now or in the future.

I can promise that I will make consistent daily updates (at least for the next few days). I am positive that before the weekedn runs through we would have concluded our discourse on equipments.

Once again thanks for following!

ONNYX:


I am happy to observe that some people are following and that this thread may become useful to even one person now or in the future.

I can promise that I will make consistent daily updates (at least for the next few days). I am positive that before the weekedn runs through we would have concluded our discourse on equipments.

Once again thanks for following!

Thank you so so much onyx

Having addressed the oven as one of the serious equipment considerations we have virtually touched on almost all the equipments required in a standardized bakery set-up. there are of course other equipments that we can consider as options or add-ons.

A water Chiller is one of those equipments. This is just essentially a large fast-cooling device that cools water in a rapid state. It comes in different capacities ranging from 25 liters to as much as 500 liters. This cooling device ensures that the water applied to the mixing process is as cold as possible thereby making the dough retain the desired temperature which in turn helps in improving dough quality, yield and appearance. For start-ups a variety of options exist such as a well functioning deep freezer and of course the purchase of ice-blocks on a daily basis.

The bread slicer is another equipment that is just an add-on. It simply slices the bread to the desired number of slices.

ONNYX:


Interesting questions.

I intend that we deal with some of your questions subsequently as we progress. We will treat pricing, sales strategy, distribution network building/sustenance, retailers profitability.

I cannot approach all of them at the same time and again I do have a very demanding day job/responsibilities.

Under pricing we will get the volume of bread that is the expected output from every bag of flour.
On profitability, I can tell you that there are very few businesses that have the profit potential as bread and the bakery business.
there are however intrigues that come into play. It is these intrigues that determine the success of one bakery and the failure of the next one. We will also attempt to examine these variables as march on.

Thanks very much sir for your respond. I will like you to response to it soon

ONNYX:


Interesting questions.

I intend that we deal with some of your questions subsequently as we progress. We will treat pricing, sales strategy, distribution network building/sustenance, retailers profitability.

I cannot approach all of them at the same time and again I do have a very demanding day job/responsibilities.

Under pricing we will get the volume of bread that is the expected output from every bag of flour.
On profitability, I can tell you that there are very few businesses that have the profit potential as bread and the bakery business.
there are however intrigues that come into play. It is these intrigues that determine the success of one bakery and the failure of the next one. We will also attempt to examine these variables as march on.

God bless u and give you the strength to strength to
update this thread.


May we the followers of this thread be able to accomplish the goals you have set in starting this thread

Hello everyone!

@ONNYX Well done!

I asked earlier if you had any experience with Nigerian-fabricated breadmaking equipment. Do you?
I've also been trying to dig into integrated utilities on this project. Costs will reduce if Pinch technology can be achieved.
Equipment cost, Utilities (Power, Heating/Cooling) and Land Use are my target, in that order.
Like I understood initially, picking up just one section and diving into it, is a great start. Didn't know ice was an everyday bakery need. Thank you!
I hope I can share some of my findings on equipment as you continue?

clensman:
I really appreciate this thread because it has really giving me basic knowledge of the industry. What I want this thread to touch is the selling price of the bread to distributors and the final retailers and the cost of production from the bakery. How many bread can we get from 50kg bag with each sizes of breads. Knowing this will help us to do the sales forecast and also help in preparing a good business plan for it especially for the newbies and those who will eventually want go into it whether it is profitable to venture or not.

The quantity of bread you can get from a bag of flour (50kg) depends on the size of loaf you are baking... It could vary across bakeries...

dbynonetwork:

The quantity of bread you can get from a bag of flour (50kg) depends on the size of loaf you are baking... It could vary across bakeries...

Why don't you analysis them here if you know something about it e.g if it is #100 size how many can we get from 50kg bag and if it #300 or #250 loaf how many can we get from same bag of 50kg. I will appreciate a response here for sale forecast.

clensman:


Thanks very much sir for your respond. I will like you to response to it soon

Bread pricing is a very tricky issue.

If you are operating in the regular bread market then you have very little wiggle room as you have to COMPETE. If on the other hand you have a specialized clientèle who are quite discerning and not particular about pricing then you can play around with prices and make more profits. Another important scenario is that if you are a one stop bakery point and people buy your product as a conscious decision then you are more likely to have significant control over how much profit you make. Should the price of Shoprite bread, Barcelos,park and Shop, Roban Stores, Next and a few other special quality breads have their prices increase by even 50.00 I assure you that the demand will not be affected even by a hairs breadth. people will still buy unless of course the price increase is significant and unjustifiable in the minds of the customer.

If you are an operator in the generic play-field, you have to flow with the tide. There is simply no other way.
An increase as insignificant as 20.00 could have far reaching implications for your bottom line as the customers will swarm on any other available product that has some similarity with yours in terms of size, taste and packaging. I daresay when this happens, staging a comeback can prove very difficult as many otherwise unknown products can leverage on this uproar.

Summarily, be careful about pricing. It is a very significant variable that is very relevant to the financial health of your busuiness.

dbynonetwork:

The quantity of bread you can get from a bag of flour (50kg) depends on the size of loaf you are baking... It could vary across bakeries...

This is very correct.

There are no hard and fast rules about this.

Every 50Kg bag of flour will give you a specific cumulative dough weight post mixing.

The number of loaves of bread that will come out is a function of the bread sizes you intend to cut the dough into.

That will then determine your pricing and of course your gross and net profitability.