Rebranding bread-baking business
Bread is a staple food eaten by the low, the high and the mighty in Nigeria. It is often believed in many parts of the world that it is one of world’s oldest foods.
Nigerians often eat bread because it is part of their survival. It is cheap, affordable and easy to find in the streets. National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that Nigerians spent a total of N586, 287,068,386.48 billion on bread between 2009 and 2010. Research also shows that over 100 million Nigerians consume bread.
Some economists have classified it as an inferior good because it is mostly consumed by the poor. Another reason adduced for classifying bread as an inferior good is that as one’s income increases, one’s demand for it diminishes.
But empirical evidence shows that even though it is mainly consumed by the poor members of the society, it is also part of the diets of the rich. In fact, rich Nigerians spend more income on bread than the poor, research has revealed.
The cost of bread in Nigeria ranges between N30 and N400, depending on size, type and quality. In Lagos, Kano, Onitsha and Abuja, some large-sized quality bread goes up to N500.
However, apart from bread made of wheat flour, which experts say lowers risk of diabetes and heart disease, a modern type of bread in Nigeria is one made of cassava flour, which Akinwunmi Adesina, Nigerian minister of agriculture and rural development, has done well to promote.
Health experts also say that bread made in Nigeria is yet to meet international heath standards.
“Bread made in Nigeria is heavily-sugared owing to the presence of bromide. Nigerian bread is mainly junk,” Ifeh Azih, director of Destiny Laboratories, told BusinessDay.
“Despite all the efforts of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), bakers still use saccharines,” added Kenneth Diobu, a health expert.
Bakers also express the same sentiment.
“Over hundred million Nigerians eat bread on daily basis, but about 70 percent of this consumers do not consume quality wholesome bread.
“There is the challenge of unhealthy and unethical competitors whose warfare is price reduction. These bakers substitute ingredients like sugar (which is the most expensive ingredient) with saccharine because it is far cheaper to do so, without considering the health hazards of saccharine.
“Since the consumer cannot differentiate the different between a sugar sweetened bread from saccharine sweetened bread, such shylock bakers take the advantage, because they know that most consumers will go for a low-cost bread first,” said Ebube Frank Umeh, director of Big Sam Bakery, who recently launched Mr Honey brand of bread.
But Umeh said to rebrand bread-making business in Nigeria, poor power supply, high cost of materials and lack of access to funds should be resolved, saying “high nature of raw materials is also a challenge. It affects us adversely because bread is a price sensitive commodity. It is very difficult to increase the price of bread because raw materials increased.”
But bankers say the inability of bakers and other small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) to access funds from financial institutions is attributed to faulty business practices.
“There are certain requirements that must be met before they could enjoy bank finance. These are bank statement and proper record of the company’s activities.
“Banks are also business enterprises and are in business to make profit too. So, there is no way you can prove you operate a business without a bank statement, which most businesses lack,’’ said Ugochukwu Chris-Aladum, a branch manager, Stanbic IBTC plc.
Perhaps, the greatest challenge is the use of harmful substances in bread making. The NAFDAC in Nigeria places potassium bromide, a harmful substance, on ban. But health experts say more work should be done in NAFDAC’s enforcement department.
By: ODINAKA ANUDU