Flour Mills dwarfs peers as diversification continues

Flour Mills of Nigeria plc has remained the biggest player in the flour milling industry even as intense diversification into other sub-sectors continues.

The Golden Penny Flour brand has remained the number one choice of bakers, owing to its widely-attested quality and efficient packaging. Bakers interviewed described it as ‘’hot cake,’’ adding that Semovita and Goldenvita brands have been the choices of many homes over the years.

With the inauguration of “West Mills” in September 2012, the firm now boasts of a large number of mills with a daily wheat grinding capacity of well over 8,000 metric tons.

“Every week FMN receives on average a shipload of 35,000MT of up to seven different kinds of wheat,’’ says the firm, on its website.

Two key variants of its Golden Pasta brand, Macaroni and Spaghetti, have been in the Nigerian market for over 15 years with other additional variants launched over time.

Real Sector Watch investigations have shown that the Golden Penny Noodles brand is the number one choice of Nigerian consumers who are desirous of getting the best out of existing noodles. Consumers’ testimony confirms that it is nutritious, non sticky, while its taste and texture reflect high quality wheat flour, which functions as a binding agent during dough formation.

“I buy Golden Penny Noodles because it tastes good and completely different from what I have consumed,’’ said Aisha Obey, noodles consumer at Mafoluku area of Lagos.

Flour Mills recently stormed the sugar industry with products containing all the essential nutrients, while meeting the standards of regulatory agencies. Considerable work has been done in the 750,000 metric tons (MT) capacity plant, said Jacques Vauthier, chief financial officer of the company, recently.

Findings show Flour Mills’ Nigerian Bag Manufacturing (BAGCO) is key to 40 percent growth reported in the packaging industry in the last four years, having been supporting the industrial and agricultural sectors with quality bags since 1972. Golden Fertiliser has also helped in promoting the agricultural sector in the economy, Real Sector Watch gathered.

 ODINAKA ANUDU