Bakery business in Nigeria is one of the oldest businesses in the country, but till today, bakers still generate a substantial amount of money on a daily basis.
The demand for bakery products is very high, and so it will be as the population keeps increasing every day.
From baking loaves of bread to pastries and even cakes, there are lots of bakery businesses you can venture into in Nigeria.
Business Capital
The cool thing about this business is that you can start small and scale, also if you have a bigger capital, you can start big and make millions of naira in months.
While looking to start any business, what will first come to your mind is the capital required, and that leads to the question – what is the cost of starting a bakery business in Nigeria?
Bread bakery business in Nigeria is capital intensive and to start, you’ll need a minimum of N1.5million and above as a startup fund. This money will cover the cost of equipment and materials, as well as staff salary, and some registration fee.
Profitability
Yes, the bakery business is very profitable in Nigeria, although the profitability of your bakery depends on the types of products baked.
For example, if you deal with the baking of bread alone, you will need to sell hundreds of dozens to make a substantial amount of money. However, dealing with the baking of cakes you could double your investment, as cakes are usually baked for occasions, which means it is more of a contract than a business.
With bread bakeries being the most popular in Nigeria, due to high demand, bakeries make hundreds of dozens of sales daily, which means a lot of profit, but also a lot of work.
For instance, if a bag of flour costs N30,000, your profit will be somewhere around N10,000 per bag after necessary expenses have been written off.
The realistic profit margin to expect per bag of bread in Nigeria is between 20% to 50%.
Bakery Procedure
Market Research: The first step in starting a bakery business in Nigeria is to carry out thorough market research. Here, you have to find out the best bakery business to start as there are many.
You also have to do some findings on the best way to start, find out how much every equipment and material needed for baking costs.
Form of Bakery : To decide on this, your decisions should be based on the startup cost, profitability, and how easy will the business be based on your personality/lifestyle.
Here, you decide whether to float Traditional Bakery, Pastry Bakery, Specialty Bakery or Home Bakery.
Training: For business purposes, you will need to acquire more knowledge about baking. This is because baking for yourself, family, or friends is different from baking for sale.
You can get trained by visiting a bakery and asking the owner to employ you as a trainee rather than a worker. This way, you will learn more about the business entirely, not only the baking skill.
Business Plan: Whether you want to start small or big, regardless of the type of bakery business you want to start, it is ideal to draft a business plan that will serve as a road map toward your success.
In your business plan, you need to outline your objectives, and also your targets in terms of growth and finance both short-term and long-term.
Registration: Unlike other businesses that can be started without any registration whatsoever, you must register your business to start baking and selling baked food in Nigeria.
The registration starts with AMBB and NAFDAC.
You also need to register your business with the CAC, and also join some local, or state associations of bakery owners to acquire all the licenses and certifications required to run your business without disturbance.
Location: You need a space for your business. This place is where your oven will be mounted and all baking and production processes will be carried out. You can rent a warehouse, or build a bakery from scratch if you have more capital.
Procure Equipments: Equipment needed include, Oven; Mixers; Dough proofer; Bakeware; Refrigerator; Wood Top Work Table; Proof boxes; Racks and baking sheets; Sinks; Flour Sifters; Trays; Flour; Baking Ingredients
Recruitment: Unless you want to start a home bakery or bake small chops on a small scale, you won’t need to employ workers. You need to employ workers and not just ordinary ones, but bakers.
This will help improve the efficiency of your business, as you’ll have time to focus on some important parts of the business operation including marketing and sales.
Production: After getting all the materials and ingredients needed, as well as employing staff, the next thing is to start production.
This is one of the most critical parts of the business. Keep in mind that your production environment must be clean, and the packaging of your products must be hygienic. Also, keep track of daily production to ensure good management and quickly note if there’s a need for adjustment.
Market Your Products: After production, the next and final step in starting a bakery business in Nigeria is marketing. You must make marketing your top priority, after all, the reason for production is to drive sales.
