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If you're looking forward to starting a bread business in Nigeria, you'd find this piece helpful...

How to Start a Lucrative Business in Nigeria in 2019 (full details)

lifenajeje:
We are waiting

I will resume this weekend.

My keeping you in suspense wasn't deliberate.

But I think I can spare some time this weekend.

Keep a date.

This weekend I will deal with the the myth about the profitability of otherwise of the bakery business.

A cursory visit to the Alaba International market in Lagos will reveal that a large proportion of traders are involved in the sales of Industrial kitchen Bakery equipment.

This alone tells you that ther is a huge demand for bakery equipment. It also goes to emphasize the fact that the bakery business is probably more profitable than what people know about it.

I mean it wouldn't just make sense for Importers to import so many industrial ovens and other equipment without knowing that for sure all will be sold. Bakery equipment sales is big business and it will remain so for a long time to come.

On the other extreme we also find out that a lot of bakeries are closing down and some of them just after operating for just a few months. When this bakeries fold up. it dies with a lot of unfulfilled dreams and aspirations. Then follows the desire to recoup the initial investment as much as possible and this is usually a herculean task.

As a matter of fact it is rare for you to get back 50% of the initial investment.

Even here on Nairaland, you have a number of adverts seeking buyers of equipment belonging to moribund bakery investments.

Most of these equipments are in the most pristine of conditions and only require proper servicing and installing. As a matter of fact I have bought several used equipment from Nairalanders and those equipment were simply wonderful. Remember that if you buy the right specs of equipment, some of them are designed to last as long as 20 years so buying a fairly new equipment that has only been used for a year at 50% (it can be that low depending on a number of variables) of the cost is a very good deal.

The purpose of this piece is not to discuss equipment be it new or used. This is only a preamble to the main gist which has to do with the why and wherefore for the regular collapse of bakeries in Nigeria.

Welcome back.
You'll need to give lifenajeje a loaf of bread for his perseverance...

Welcome again.

connkg:
Welcome back.
You'll need to give lifenajeje a loaf of bread for his perseverance...

Welcome again.

Okay, ifenajeje, please send me a location within civilized Lagos and be assured of the best coconut bread roll your palette has ever tasted.

We can do this as soon as you are ready to take delivery.

The bread is packed as a dozen of rolls and it sells for 1000.00

You can then describe your feeling here on the thread.

One of the greatest causes of premature closure of bakeries and abdication of the business is a poor understanding of the business.

In the majority of cases, people just jump into the business without a proper study that unveils the gray areas of the business.
This is of course a very common streak among Nigerian businesses but I daresay it is very prevalent in the bakery industry.

People just assume that just because there are so many people in our towns then there has to be need for more bread and bakeries.
The same applies to the sachet water business. There are so many people in both businesses now that the ROI (return on investment) is now taking 4 times the period it used to unless........the business is set up by someone who knows what he is doing.

To worsen matters there have sprung up all manners of Charlatans claiming to be Consultants who are supposedly knowledgeable in bakery set-up and management. These sweet talkers arrange very short and peripheral bread making seminars and charge humongous amounts and yet give absolutely nothing in return.

And your guess is as good as mine as per the predominant gender populating the classrooms; women.

They pay so much and are given absolutely nothing in return.

Finally they are cajoled into making large investments in baking equipment and from a preferred vendor too. If you know you know.

Over 99% of these attendees who venture into the business fail woefully and guess what the investment is flushed down the loo.

One very important index in deciding if you should hire a consultant is to see what he is doing in the present. Never rely on past achievements and academic laurels. You will be a victim of a very smooth scam. Baking bread is a very serious business.

Making money (profit) from a bakery investment requires a business mindset and this begins with the first decision of how the training and skill is acquired. As a rule of thumb, never engage a bakery set-up guide who is not currently running a bakery. I daresay that I have come across 14 consultants in Lagos alone and none of them runs a successful bakery.

Some of them are even right here on Nairaland.

Mark my words; a really good baker does not usually have the time to develop, market and execute seminars. At best he may invite you to learn right in his bakery.

There is nothing that compares to a practical learning experience.

It is for this reason that Doctors spend more time in a teaching hospital.

I will mention something here. The Igbos have perfected the art of apprenticeship. Be you an illiterate, SSCE holder or a Graduate, one common streak runs through; you must understudy a the business you want to deal in for many years before branching out on your own. and this is done in the shop and atmosphere that is similar to what your day to day experience will be when you start your own.

Bread making requires the same approach. No point investing 5 Million Naira in a business without intending to sit down and bake it yourself.

Of course you can adopt an investors approach if you have the funds as you can hire experienced hands to run your bakery for you in all facets. Many money bags do this with a significant success.

Any body, consultant or not who advises you to invest 10 Million Naira in a bakery and then allow others to run it in your absence is doing you great harm. Sprint away from such a fellow. If you must adopt that model you need at least 50,000 - 100,000 dollars to ensure that the business takes off on an even keel and becomes successful in the shortest possible time.

This is the hard truth and it is drawn from experience.

[quote author=ONNYX post=76707471]

Okay, ifenajeje, please send me a location within civilized Lagos and be assured of the best coconut bread roll your palette has ever tasted.

We can do this as soon as you are ready to take delivery.

The bread is packed as a dozen of rolls and it sells for 1000.00

Thanks for the mention @ cooking

Is ikotun part of civilised Lagos ?

If not I don't mind picking up this bread from civilised part of Lagos oh

Am already salivating thinking about the bread

lifenajeje:
Thanks for the mention @ cooking

Is ikotun part of civilised Lagos ?

If not I don't mind picking up this bread from civilised part of Lagos oh

Am already salivating thinking about the bread

Okay. Ikotun is great area.

We really don't sell our bread there but we are considering appointing a distributor there for the various brands we have.

If you can post a phone number here today (I will copy it and you can delete it subsequently) i will arrange for you to have the bread sometime this week. Our dispatch rider will call you and deliver the bread either there or somewhere close.

Ikeja, Egbeda, Agege, Dopemu are options.

Another very obvious reason why bakeries close prematurely is the copycat nature of our business environment. Someone has a little or a lot of money. He decides or is convinced by another that the bakery business is the bomb. Without an iota of interest he heads there and after a cursory analysis most times with the aid of convoluted self-acclaimed consultants he ventures into investing in an area he has no knowledge whatsoever about.

He rents/buys a location, acquires and installs the supposedly required equipment (often at a seriously over-invoiced cost in favour of the consultant) and thinks he is ready to rake in the money.

He then decides to hit a home run by recruiting his baker and of course prefers to poach a baker from an already existing and apparently flourishing bakery. He offers the baker a mouth-watering package with promises of regular reviews in tow. The baker then resumes and all they do is to replicate the recipe of the bakery that is flourishing and then try to compete in the market.

No ingenuity and definitely no originality.
All you do is replicate the same product in the same environment seeking of course to ‘steal’ some customers from a respected brand.

Is it therefore surprising that the business collapses in a short while?

In my opinion, in order to succeed in this business one has to consider carefully what you are putting out there in the market. Just producing the same recipe is nonsense. That is why you see some new bakeries flourishing.

In Abuja NEXT bread sold within the NEXT supermarket confines attract very good patronage and the reason is not far-fetched. Ditto for Grand Square in Alausa, Barcelos in Ikeja GRA, Roban bread from Roban Stores and the ubiquitous ’Shoprite bread’ to mention just a few.

Pricing is a psychological issue. If you give a certain level of value I can assure you that you can sell so much bread you yourself will be surprised. Whatever you are offering should be a product from a well thought out process hinged on originality, ingenuity and appropriate value.

Never follow the Jones when starting your bread. Consider doing something new and different and then if you strike the right palate chords and adopt an effective marketing model, you should coast home with significant profits that will justify your investment.

Today, I wish to advise those who intend to go into bakery ownership in the long term.

Please understand that this is my personal perspective and drawn from my observations in the industry.

If you have the interest of owning a bakery in the future I strongly suggest that to make it easy for you consider the following steps.

Avoid a theoretical Consultant. In the majority of cases a consultant is a failed baker. The best consultants are usually the ones who are currently running a profitable bakery; this is an index for identifying who you should hire as your bakery set-up Guide. Alternatively, get a job in a bakery no matter how lowly the position and salary and then observe keenly and with resolute exactitude how the bread process works. Ensure that you LEARN and UNDERSTAND the various stages that constitute the process, raw materials,recipe and very importantly also play around with the raw materials and configuration.

If you spend one year in the job and also draw a lot of theoretical back-up from the Internet especially Youtube videos you should be ready to launch out on your own.

Another option is to adopt the business angle. A lot of bakeries fail because they have absolutely no clue whatsoever about how bread is marketed. They bake the bread and then are at a total loss as regards how to get it to the consumer. A very good option for the business minded entrepreneur would be for him to identify a new bakery that has appealing products, register as a distributor and start selling bread.

Two things will benefit him from this angle;

1. He will learn the ropes of bread distribution.

2. He will build a robust database of customers who will constitute his own initial customers when he sets up shop.

Feel free to drop your questions here and I will consider it an honour to attend to it. You must however understand that it could take some time before I respond. I am really very busy at the moment especially with having new products coming up.

Finally, if there is anyone interested in setting up a specialized bread distributorship within Lagos and indeed the entire country you may kindly indicate here on the thread and I will guide you accordingly.

If you handle it well the specialized bread investment can give you over 25% of your investment on a weekly basis.

In other words, your 100,000.00 investment can give you 25,000 on a weekly basis without fail if of course you are willing to commit and persevere.

ONNYX:


Okay. Ikotun is great area.

We really don't sell our bread there but we are considering appointing a distributor there for the various brands we have.

If you can post a phone number here today (I will copy it and you can delete it subsequently) i will arrange for you to have the bread sometime this week. Our dispatch rider will call you and deliver the bread either there or somewhere close.

Ikeja, Egbeda, Agege, Dopemu are options.

07038149252


I can't wait

My mouth is salivating

If u stay around ikotun u can join me in tasting the bread

ONNYX:
Finally, if there is anyone interested in setting up a specialized bread distributorship within Lagos and indeed the entire country you may kindly indicate here on the thread and I will guide you accordingly.

If you handle it well the specialized bread investment can give you over 25% of your investment on a weekly basis.

In other words, your 100,000.00 investment can give you 25,000 on a weekly basis without fail if of course you are willing to commit and persevere.

Am very much interested

ONNYX:
Finally, if there is anyone interested in setting up a specialized bread distributorship within Lagos and indeed the entire country you may kindly indicate here on the thread and I will guide you accordingly.

If you handle it well the specialized bread investment can give you over 25% of your investment on a weekly basis.

In other words, your 100,000.00 investment can give you 25,000 on a weekly basis without fail if of course you are willing to commit and persevere.

u are really grounded in this industry.
well-done

ONNYX:
Finally, if there is anyone interested in setting up a specialized bread distributorship within Lagos and indeed the entire country you may kindly indicate here on the thread and I will guide you accordingly.

If you handle it well the specialized bread investment can give you over 25% of your investment on a weekly basis.

In other words, your 100,000.00 investment can give you 25,000 on a weekly basis without fail if of course you are willing to commit and persevere.

am very much interested but on a small scale first something like neighborhood bakery

i bake cakes from home in the past and opened a pastry shop close to my house in January

would love to start baking breads from the shop despite its size


at least one needs to start from somewhere before scaling up.



my mouth is still salivating for the bread oh

Onyxx I know u are quote busy ....am still waiting for my bread..if I know ur bakery I can always pick it up cos I move around a lot .

lifenajeje:
Onyxx I know u are quote busy ....am still waiting for my bread..if I know ur bakery I can always pick it up cos I move around a lot .

I have no tenable excuse for this lapse. You are always on my mind. You will receive a call tomorrow and an arrangement will be made for you to pick up the bread on Tuesday morning at Agege or Ogba.

Thanks for your understanding this far.

I want to start bakery business.

Gas oven and electric oven, which one is better?

ONNYX:
I also hope both industry players and potential entrants will draw benefits from this thread. I implore all the open minded operators of bakeries and those who are consultants to come on board and let us help those who may be having difficulties in the business by providing solutions that will enable us excel. We all then become winners.

If you have any questions regarding the baking process, the bakery business, ingredients, equipment and staffing, this may just be the thread that solutions can be drawn from.

While I cannot stop posters from advertising their products and services here, I can only state clearly that while this could be useful I cannot vouch for any advert or indeed any solution provider. You will need to do your due diligence before deciding if you need to contract a service or purchase a product.

I want to venture into bread making business. I have seen all the equipments i will need t buy. I want to ask: Gas and electric deck oven, which one is better and most used in Nigeria?

ONNYX:
Finally, if there is anyone interested in setting up a specialized bread distributorship within Lagos and indeed the entire country you may kindly indicate here on the thread and I will guide you accordingly.

If you handle it well the specialized bread investment can give you over 25% of your investment on a weekly basis.

In other words, your 100,000.00 investment can give you 25,000 on a weekly basis without fail if of course you are willing to commit and persevere.

Hello Oga, I have been trying to reach you like forever.

I have sent you PM's repeatedly and no response.
I also dug out your email and sent you a mail directly but yet no response.

Kindly help me out by indicating how I can take just 10 minutes of your time.

I need to start the bread distribution business immediately and I am counting on your guidance.

Hello everybody,

My e-space has been besieged with messages and requests.
Majority of them draw from this thread.

I am going to spend some time and wrap up the thread and then start another one that will run through the next three months.

I will try to be as consistent as possible with that one and it will be a very pragmatic exercise with me reaching out to directly (albeit remotely) guide
a few interested, serious minded and committed individuals desirous of starting out on bread related business.

ONNYX:
Hello everybody,

My e-space has been besieged with messages and requests.
Majority of them draw from this thread.

I am going to spend some time and wrap up the thread and then start another one that will run through the next three months.

I will try to be as consistent as possible with that one and it will be a very pragmatic exercise with me reaching out to directly (albeit remotely) guide
a few interested, serious minded and committed individuals desirous of starting out on bread related business.

welcome back

mmb:
welcome back

Indeed, we heartfully welcome OP back.

[quote author=Proselling post=82546714]

Thanks!

mmb:
I want to start bakery business.

Gas oven and electric oven, which one is better?

It will require quite a long explanation to attend to this but summarily speaking i prefer Gas in this clime.
Electric has its strengths especially as regards the almost 100% even heat convection (which in the majority of cases is aided by a fan).

However, using an electric oven profitably requires a deftness that can only be acquired from painstaking experience.
If you are not very adept at using the electric oven especially for commercial production of bread you will have several bad outcomes.

Then again, our business setting does not really encourage businesses that rely on Electricity. Should your public power supply be inadequate or non-existent, then you are in the proverbial soup. Most Industrial electric ovens require large generators to enable them run optimally and this must be Three phase and diesel driven.

For starters, you are better off starting with gas oven requiring less than 1000 watts of electricity to power the panels which control the lighter, timer, thermostat etc.

The above is my take on this question.

But believe me this is just a summary albeit a very detailed summary.

ONNYX:


It will require quite a long explanation to attend to this but summarily speaking i prefer Gas in this clime.
Electric has its strengths especially as regards the almost 100% even heat convection (which in the majority of cases is aided by a fan).

However, using an electric oven profitably requires a deftness that can only be acquired from painstaking experience.
If you are not very adept at using the electric oven especially for commercial production of bread you will have several bad outcomes.

Then again, our business setting does not really encourage businesses that rely on Electricity. Should your public power supply be inadequate or non-existent, then you are in the proverbial soup. Most Industrial electric ovens require large generators to enable them run optimally and this must be Three phase and diesel driven.

For starters, you are better off starting with gas oven requiring less than 1000 watts of electricity to power the panels which control the lighter, timer, thermostat etc.

The above is my take on this question.

But believe me this is just a summary albeit a very detailed summary.

Great!

Its really nice for you to create the time to come back here.

We truly missed you.

Can you please discuss the bread distribution business as requested above by anotherr poster. Some of us might be interested in investing along this line.