₦airaland Forum

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.

Lush100:
Hello folks,
any one knows a good business idea that one can engage in for a capital of 1.5M to 2.5M for a start preferably commodities /FMCG. wholesale etc.

will appreciate genuine advice.

You have already chosen he best model.

F.M.C.G Sales/Distributions is definitely the way to go any time, any day.

Just chose an emerging company with a good product and then get in gear.

Your location is unclear; Lagos. Abuja, Calabar, Ibadan........

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

ifortenet:
Kudos to you ONNYX for a well delivered piece on bakery, we need more of your type to help shield more educative light on different businesses, cheers bro I feel you

The pleasure is mine.

I am glad the effort is yielding some results.
I hope you consider the business worthwhile enough to invest...........at any level.

airsaylongcon:
Lol! We are still here arguing the figures? I already stated what industry leaders like Qatar LNG pays and how its not different.

Anyway I'm done with this.

The epiphany

thegreengooner:
Yet again you miss my point while making the point you are so eager to distance yourself from. This is fun Mr. Anonymous. Any thing you want to say in life, you better say it with your chest or say nothing at all.

Lets just say 'You have won, you are the undisputed champion'.

Can we now move on please!!!!!

The energy source of an oven is one very important way of classification.
There are all sorts of energy sources both traditional and contemporary.

Traditionally, we have the regular wood fired ovens which evolved into the charcoal fueled baking chambers.
You will be amazed with the fact that some really large bakeries still use this form of energy. I know really huge operations that insist on the firewood driven process. And guess what, some of the bakers are so proficient that the bread comes out so good it would be difficult for you to distinguish it from bread made with more contemporary and cleaner energy sources.
May I quickly add here that some of the firewood ovens have undergone significant modifications such that the old mud wall type of ovenm has given way to a more contemporary steel bodied chamber.

Charcoal is also a very common energy source for baking bread.
Chacoal lumps/briquettes are used to energize the oven. These types also make use of steel chambers and work very well.
While the commercial nature of the contemporary industrial bread production is more attuned to equipment that is driven by 'new energy'
the more specialized bakeries are still using the old type ovens. In France I have been to a bakers shop who uses a heated stone slab to produce his very specialized loaf which is also very expensive.

In the Germany, I know of a baker that uses a charcoal powered oven.

Ollyt75:
I'm really enjoying this thread... So educative
God bless you sir for the vital information you are giving out....I'm with you till the end

Thanks for the validation.

I am glad you find it useful.

thegreengooner:
11 years experience in said industry. You?

I really wouldn't like to descend into this alley.

I respect your years of experience (11) which is a fair outing.
My immediate subordinate has raked in 14 years as a certified practitioner.

Lets just learn from each other anonymously.

No need to make you feel small.

You have your experience, I have mine.

Thats about it.

connkg:
Happy Independence Day to everyone.
@ONNYX I'm going through your posts, re-drawing the set up and listing equipment specifications (energy demand only, as you haven't stated anything about jacketed vessels or external cooling).


It helps that you're stating which is necessary and which is advantageous, though I'm still not sure what can actually be bypassed.
We will redo this segment as we progress and you yourself will come to terms with the necessities and those nice to have equipment.

In all (and I apologise ahead for this), I'm already totalling cost.


I have a question...is manual, open-air transfer of material between stages possible/the low-cost practice until oven-baking?

Its deliberate as I am focusing on a generalized and very rudimentary analysis that will be understood by all and sundry. For this reason I therefore didn't consider it necessary to deal with the complexities that you have raised.

Since we are here already I would like to state that there is absolutely no need for jacketed vessels at this level of operation. But external cooling is the last but one stage in the bread making process and for external cooling different kinds of apparatus will suffice.

Many bakeries make use of a simple wall fan which is more than adequate..

We will get to costing at some point in the discourse. Sooner than later. Its a really tricky area and I would rather approach it carefully. its a
most sensitive area and I do not wish to cause any disaffection or de-market anyone or his/her business. Thats not the purpose of this thread. I may however be persuaded to provide some guidance privately for those who want to embark on a equipment acquisition.

Yes, very possible and as a matter of fact this is the most realistic approach for the mini/medium bakery set-up.

I hope this deals with your concerns as highlighted?

connkg:
Happy Independence Day to everyone.
@ONNYX I'm going through your posts, re-drawing the set up and listing equipment specifications (energy demand only, as you haven't stated anything about jacketed vessels or external cooling).

It helps that you're stating which is necessary and which is advantageous, though I'm still not sure what can actually be bypassed.

In all (and I apologise ahead for this), I'm already totalling cost.

I have a question...is manual, open-air transfer of material between stages possible/the low-cost practice until oven-baking?

I will respond to this in my next post. bear with me.

THE OVEN;
I suppose this is the undisputed king of baking equipment.
The oven is the most popular among all bread processing equipment.

Its function is quite limited and it is primarily for the cooking of the bread after all the processes have been put in place.

A proper analysis of the oven will take several pages and also a lot of time. Some of the information may not be necessary for the purpose this thread is designed to achieve which is to stimulate further investment in the bread/bakery industry in Nigeria.

We will nonetheless still attempt an expose on the oven using different indices.

Please bear with me as it requires serious attention to detail and I may progress rather slowly as I am quite busy at this time.


Ovens can be categorized using different variables;

Size, energy source, energy dispensing mode, functionality among others.

We will attempt to analyze the oven using the above stated predicates.

THE PROOFER.

Proofing is simply getting the bread to undergo a proper fermentation process before it is introduced to the oven heat required to cook it to readiness. Put simply it is the action temperature and humidity on yeast to produce carbon dioxide.

Previously all manners of methods were adopted to prove the bread. Some of these methods now appear very hilarious but if the truth must be told these methods were very functional and yielded the desired results.

The Proofing oven or Proving Oven is a simple temperature and humidity control chamber that is used to catalyze the fermentation process for the dough by the yeast.

Simply described, the process involve the temperature facilitating the activity of the yeast which in turn acts on the dough to produce carbon dioxide thus making the bread rise higher and faster.

This is the biggest time saving device in the baking process.

Made of Stainless steel and glass, it appears very similar to a contemporary oven but differs only in function. It also comes in different sizes and shapes.

As a rule, you need more proofing capacity than oven capacity and the logic behind this is that the dough spends more time in the proofer than in the oven. Most breads proof manually over 3-4 hours (depending on variables which may not be limited to room atmospheric conditions, dough portions/size yeast percentile) while the artificial proofing takes about 40-60 minutes depending primarily on the settings.

Please note that even though the proofer is not a very expensive equipment it is still not a tool you cannot do without. As a matter of fact most medium sized bakeries in Nigeria have no need for the proofer oven as the atmospheric pressure in the baking facility is already dough friendly.

THE DOUGH MOULDER;

All bread that is produced goes through a molding process. This is simply the rolling of the dough to attain the desired shape before it is placed in the pan or tray.

Dough molders come in different shapes and sizes reflecting the bread shape and size desired. The more contemporary dough molders can be easily modified to accommodate different shapes and sizes.

This is also another time and labour saving equipment. It also contributes to a uniform product quality ultimately. I would also like to describe it as heavy investment that yields maximum dividends over time.

THE DOUGH DIVIDER

The next equipment in the bakery process is the Dough Divider. As the name implies, this is a simple device that divides the dough into desired sizes and weight.

While it can be deduced that there is nothing special about this machine it would be important to state here that this is really a time and labour saver combined as one. Traditionally what was used was regular kitchen knives and scales to cut the dough to desired sizes.

As a matter of fact most small bakeries are still using the traditional method. It is quite a drudgery and it produces some losses in the overall production volume as a result of the significant human factor that come into play in the process. So the dough divider comes to the rescue. It divides the dough into the desired weight/size and this attained with just one simple depression of a lever.

It comes in either manual, hydraulic and electric versions. It is also denoted in terms of the capacity it will handle per cycle.

On the whole, the time and labour it saves you over time justifies the huge investment used to procure it.

May I also add that because it fastens the process of cutting the dough it enables the dough to be molded and placed in pans while still in its optimal post-mixing state.

lindaayim:
USA if you can make it here. The immigration process is getting stricter due to alleged abuse of different visa category. But if you can get hold of a valid immigrant visa/green card, opportunities abound from teaching to engineering, business, trade (importing and exporting of cars and other good)........The weather here may be a little better than Canada.

Thanks! The US is still an option for us. I have visited the US twice and have been to a number of states. I would consider the US primarily because of the weather (in most states and the opportunities available).

The big question is how do we apply: can I apply via student visa for my wife and then the kids join her while she does a post graduate programme or a health related course?

The invest option here is quite steep and raising such an amount could be quite an uphill task. Then again it would be quite unpredictable investing in a totally new terrain without any fore knowledge whatsoever.

I am open to your advice though.

For a Standard medium sized bakery operation, I usually advise that one procures at least two Mixers; a 12.5 Kg (Quarter bag) and at least one 50Kg (one bag) mixer. Note that the reasons behind this option are more of operational than economics.For instance if you have tecnical issues with your large diesel generator, a small electric generator (3.5 -5Kva) can power the small mixer while you fix the diesel generator. This will save you from the embarrassment of not being able to fulfill orders.

Some days are slow baking days and you probably bed to slow down on your production volume. At that point what you need to do is to revert to your small generator and produce less with the smaller machines.

Where the above is not feasible then steer the middle course, get a one bag mixer and grow from there.

For the smaller startups you could go with the 12.5kg (Quarter bag) Mixers. Another very important consideration is the power. Mixers from One bag capacity and above require a three phase power source to power it. This means that you will require a three phase connection from the public power supply or a three phase diesel generator.

A petrol generator cannot power a three phase equipment.

thegreengooner:
No effort required...just google me. I mean it literally. I'm neither faceless nor anonymous.

Not saying you're lying though...just that I may have insights you don't have.

Perhaps you do......perhaps you don't but this shouldn't bring about an argument.

State what you know, I state what I know and the readers determine which sounds superior and decide which way to go.

Some for you and some for me.

By the way, I prefer to remain anonymous and faceless.

Spiral/Bowl Rotation Speed:

The speed of the mixer Spiral is very important as regards the overall dough quality. When the mixer is in operation it is designed and calibrated to work in such a way that it makes a specific number of turns per minute.

If it makes more than that then you can be sure that what you will have is a compromised dough quality. If the spiral turns are too slow, the dough will end up being heated up by the spiral which is referred to as ‘cooking’.

Some bakers have no clue about this. If you have been trained appropriately or perhaps lucky and you establish the exact number of turns required for the dough mix process and convert this to a fixed time frame your product will be one to die for and you will never meet demand.

The Spiral Mixer

This is a very important machine. I do not wish to bore you with the history and evolution/development of the Spiral Mixer but I would like to just state the fact that this machine has come a long way, undergone a lot of changes and finally arrived as the most preferred ingredient mixing apparatus for the contemporary commercial bread maker.

Essentially it is a machine that has a large bowl and a spiral. Both the Spiral and Bowl are in motion when the process f mixing is activated. Summarily, let us just say that no modern day Industrial kitchen with bread as its main product will lack a functional Spiral Mixer.

This equipment comes in different sizes. They are classified using their capacity; either overall dough weight of flour input. In most developed settings what is used is the dough weight with/or flour weight.

In Nigeria what is more prevalent amongst bakers is the use of the standard 50kg flour bag as the unit of measuring the capacity of the mixer. So one will hear such descriptions as ‘half bag’ mixer, ‘one bag’ Mixer and ‘Two Bag’ Mixer which simply represents 25kg, 50kg and 100kg respectively.

When choosing your first mixer, a lot of variables must be considered. We will examine some of them here.

Appropriate Mixer Size/Capacity for your operation;
It is important that you choose what is nearest to your needs. Please do not buy a 1 bag mixer if you are starting out small. If you do you will be attracting diminishing returns. The mixers are designed to operate at optimal capacity. If you use a 50kg (1 bag) capacity mixer for a 25kg flour mix the process will take a longer time than what would ordinarily be required for a 50kg flour quantity for which the mixer was originally built for. It will take almost double the normal time if you require it to give you the best quality dough for your bread.

adultiph:
@OP,May God bless you.

You are doing a wonderful job here.
I am interested in bread flour milling.
But I need where I can acquire knowledge to excel in this field. I can easily get contacts from wheat traders from Russia and and other Eastern European countries to supply me with wheat.There are many variaeties of wheat grains. I don't know the one that is ideal for bread flour, cake s and doughnuts. I have a small milling factory but we only mill beans,plantain and Oat flour. I want to diversify into milling bread flour and making it available for bakers.Any suggestions (online or offline) of where I can get information about bread flour milling and best type of wheat for it will be appreciated.

Hope to get your reply on this.

This is very interesting. I am impressed. I have heard of a few small efforts at Flour Milling in Ikorodu, Sango Otta and Sagamu.
The Aba/Onitsha nexus has the greatest concentration of small to medium sized millers.

I will respond in detail to your post later today. At the moment I can only say Kudos to you for already being on track. I will further encourage you to stay on track as you have made one of the best decisions you can imagine as regards business. What you need to do now is just to retain your traction and intensify your focus on your ultimate goal.

Lets revisit this later.

Geosystem:
My pastor earns close to 800k works with imf

Do you mean that he works as a local staff of International Monetary Fund (IMF)?


If this is the case then its rather low but then again I don't know what role he plays there.

He could be a Pastor, leading a congregation but he could be a 'man friday' in his secular activity.