Bread and Ewa Aganyin is a superb combination for breakfast any day anytime in Lagos. From old to young, rich and poor and most especially on the streets, it is a meal that everyone craves and has at their beck and call for two major reasons; affordability and availability.
Agege bread is a brand name that is known all over the world. Simply put, it got its name from a location in Lagos. It is called Agege bread because in the past, Agege was the home of quality, delicious and sumptuous loaves.
WHY THE NAME AGEGE BREAD
Well, just as I mentioned above, Agege bread didn’t just emerge as a coinage, it emerged because of the deliberate attempt of most people in Agege to invest in bread making business. City PeoplesBrands & Products research revealed that before now, setting up a bakery was a big deal. It is time consuming, capital intensive and only meant for those that have the financial capacity to maintain it. The bread is called Agege bread because it originated from a place in Lagos called Agege. Everyday in Lagos you can readily find them in the stalls of food vendors, or people hawking them from street to street. “People prefer Agege bread to all these sliced modern bread,” Says Mrs Joke, a bakery owner.
However, a lot of people in Agege go into bread making venture without owning a bakery. What they do is rent a bakery for a few hours, get their production done within the stipulated time, go out and sell to the already waiting market and move on to the next available bakery. The circle goes on and on that way. Agege bread empowered so many households, many entrepreneurs rose from this ventures and made ends meet by just renting an available bakery and providing what people are waiting for.
BREAD MARKET WORTH N2 BILLION
Nigeria’s bread sub-sector is growing at a faster pace, with 72 percent of the N2 billion industry dominated by small- and medium-scale bakers, according to a 2016 KPMG report.
According to 6 Wresearch, Nigeria bakery product market is expected to grow due to the increasing consumption for ready to eat products owing to busy work schedules, increasing health concerns, rising demand for gluten-free, high-fiber and trans fat baked products along with health-benefits associated with bakery products is expected to promote the demand for bakery products in the coming years.
SUPERMARKETS TAKEOVER BREAD SALE
Before now, hawkers were the biggest distributors of bread in Lagos, Brands & Products found out.. They hawk in the morning and evening to get this high-demand product to their final consumers. Bread were baked early in the morning and late afternoon to cater to the needs of consumers but now, the story has changed. Most Nigerians don’t have to wait for hawkers to bring bread to their houses because they can now have access to hot freshly baked loaves of bread.
On the basis of distribution channels, the hypermarket/supermarket segment is gaining dominance in Nigeria bakery product market as these stores allow easier access to a wide variety of bakery items to consumers, thereby attributing to the growth of bakery product market.In starting a bakery in the country, you will require at least ¦ 500, 000 to ¦ 700, 000 for a medium sized bakery including equipment and as high as ¦ 6 million, for a large scale bakery, depending on the type and size of the bakery.
Retail stores such as Shoprite, Grocery Bazaar, Konga, Jendol, Just Rite,Jumia, Grand Square, etc. also produce bread meals considered as fresh by many Nigerians. Young Nigerians spend forty-five minutes to one hour waiting for freshly baked loaves of bread at Shoprite, not only because of freshness but also moderate prices (N350 toN400 for a medium-sized loaf).
Bread has different sizes in Nigeria and prices. Prices of different sizes of bread have risen by 25 percent (averagely) in the last six months on the back of increased prices of wheat flour, sugar and butter.
HOW TECHNOLOGY MADE THE DIFFERENCE
The difference between Agege bread and the modern-day baked bread is technology. Many years ago, no one would have believed that it is possible to house a bakery in the same building where other items are being sold. The modern day bakery makes it safer, healthier, more convenient and relatively cost effective to set up a bakery. The gadgets needed now compared to the ancient ceramic buildings can be gotten by anyone that has the financial capacity to do so.
SOME BREAD COMPANIES ARE STILL THRIVING
Despite the stiff competition from many hypermarkets and supermarkets, some bread brands still find the strength to fight for a slice of the market share. Some of the most visible bread brands in Lagos are:
Rehoboth Bread – Rehoboth Chops & Confectioneries Limited is an exquisite Bakery and Confectionery business that engages in producing unique, extraordinary and tasty products. Rehoboth Bakery is one of the exciting bakeries in the country located in the Commercial and Residential District of Ogba, Lagos.
Queens Bake Bread – Queen of All Hearts Limited is a wholly indigenous Confectionery Company that came into operation sixteen years ago. It started off with cakes and then diversified into bread making because we believe in offering our customers a good balance of luxury and staple confectionery products; thus we have now migrated from a cake only company to offering a wide variety of confectionery products.
Val-U Bread – BN FOODS Ltd was established in 2001 under the name Leventis Foods Ltd and was the first company to introduce premium packaged bread in the Nigerian market. Ever since, it became one of the largest bakeries in Nigeria producing highly nutritious variety of baked products and snacks, with a strong brand presence in Lagos, Nigeria.
Butter Rich Bread– Owned by Dejabys Bakers and Confectioners, Butter Rich Bread operates in local communities such as Lagos Island and Mushin Local Government of Lagos State with distributions across the state.
BUTTERFIELD Bread – Food Concepts Plc. was incorporated on 6 December 1999 as Food Concepts & Entertainment Limited and commenced operations in 2000. Since inception, it has set out to challenge the status quo by delivering quality food products and services that appeal to modern, West African customers.
