Venturing Into Chocolate Production Business

Nigeria is one of the major exporters of cocoa, a product that used to be a major foreign exchange earner for the country. Widely sourced in West Africa, the country is the fourth largest producer after Ivory Coast, Ghana and Indonesia.

However, most of Nigeria’s cocoa product are exported in its raw form and imported back into the country, mostly, as chocolate or beverages.

As at 2021, the global cocoa and chocolate market was valued at $46.61 billion and is projected to grow from $48.29 billion in 2022 and $67.88 billion by 2029.

Some entrepreneurs in Nigeria have begun to tap into this industry by going into the local production of chocolate. With the shortage of the dollars, imported chocolates have become more expensive, opening up a large market for local producers.

Presently, there are more than 10 local chocolatiers in Nigeria but they are not enough to meet the demand for both the dark and milky chocolate market in the country. This gives room for anyone who has a passion to join the early train in the world of chocolatiers.

The founder of LoshesChocolate, one of the top beans to chocolate makers in Nigeria, Femi Oyedipe had ventured into chocolate business as a hobby that started back in Ghana. From being a side hustle, making chocolates became a full blown business for her.

In making chocolates, you will be needing cocoa beans which can be sourced in Ondo, Cross River, Ogun, Akwa Ibom, Ekiti, Delta, Osun and Oyo states. Cocoa butter, butter or coconut oil, sugar and milk are also ingredients to make chocolate that can be sourced locally.

Starting Your Chocolate Company

In starting your chocolate company, you can start small, operating from your house thus eliminating the expense of renting a space. You can start by reaching out customers using the social media platform and once your business takes off, you may want to expand to a space in a commercial area with lots of target buyers, such as big stores and schools close by. Whatever space you choose, be sure it can accommodate your equipment and materials.

Also ensure that you do adequate homework on the appropriate equipment and supplies. Materials such as crates, ribbons, containers, colouring, and much more are required. Network with reputable suppliers for a constant supply of the materials needed. Also, invest in the right equipment.

When starting a chocolate business, be open minded as the first set may not generate the traction you expect. Be open to feedback as this will enable you improve. Oyedipe revealed that “the products of our first bag of cocoa beans were not sold at all. We gave them out to people and asked for feedback.

“Our packaging now is also not what we started with, we had to improve based on feedback. We were focused on creating a brand and entering into the market so we had to tweak a lot of our processes.”

So you have to be ready to test the waters to know what works and what does not by giving it out to potential customers and family and friends free of charge before joining the market. The reviews will help you determine which variety to make and which ones to ignore for a start. After you have discovered the colours and styles that will sell when you have made your decision, you can go full-scale.

In the chocolate industry, packaging is key, thus, your packaging should be very fancy to aid marketing. It helps to brand confectioneries. Employ the services of a graphics designer to create a branded design. Add a brochure if possible, where you can list the items you sell almost like a menu.

Challenges

Oyedipe, recounting the challenges LoshesChocolate faces, said:“one of our major challenges is power. To be able to create any good quality bar, we need to grind continuously for 36 to 48 hours. Another is manpower; because it is a virgin industry, there are no skilled labour for bean-to-bar factories so I always have to train employees and monitor them. Some of them leave after investing so much time and resources training them.

“We have challenges with access to machinery as well. The chocolate making businesses is a very expensive one. And since we have no access to external funds, we import the equipment we can and have the rest fabricated here. And of course, the usual challenges every business in Nigeria faces; challenges with dealing with government agencies and general day to day operations.”

This is however not enough to discourage you from joining the train of Nigerian chocolatiers and making a name for yourself.