Food delivery apps making inroads in Nigeria food market

Growing busy and demanding lifestyle in Nigeria’s urban centres is changing the appetite for food and preferred delivery channels among the middle class.

The Association of Fast Food and Confectioners of Nigerian (AFFCON), an umbrella body of Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) estimates that the Fast Food segment in will gulp over N250 billion, and this number is expected to rise in the future.

Various international firms like Jumai, UberEaTs have all been scrambling to grab a piece of the growing market.

Local apps, Bukka, Foodie, Gofood, Gingerbox among many others are also in the race as consumers place greater value on ease and convenience than ever before.

These apps are majorly servicing Nigerians leaving in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

The National Bureau of Statistics in its last report titled “Labour Force Statistics Volume 2: Employment by Sector report for Third Quarter of 2017’’ noted that 8.46 million were engaged between one to 19 hours weekly; 18.02 million 20 to 39 hours; 51.06 million above 40 hours).

UberEats already have its app downloaded over 140,000 times on Google Playstore. Similarly Jumai boasts of similar figures.

Nigeria local apps also are doing not afar off, Bukka has over 100,000 downloads, Gofood 67,000 and Foodie 78,000 downloads.

Speaking to BusinessDay on why he patronises online food apps, Hassan Salami a banker said he hardly has time to prepare his prepare his meals.

“It is a huge space in terms of consumer demand says Emmanuel Morka a marketing lecturer with Delta state polytechnic Ogwashi Uku “People eat three times a day.

“It is one of these markets, like the transportation market, that is so large and it is expanding because Young professionals are less likely to cook and more likely to shop online,” he added.

“I think we are looking at a major shift in the way people are eating, and buying and consuming food.”

DAVID IBEMERE