David Solomon Business Opportunities Report – Mid May 2025
The food and drinks market covers all edible products that are bought and consumed for nutrient based purposes. The market for packaged food and drinks products in Nigeria is very big because of the country’s large population. With over 200 million people, Nigeria is the most populous country in African and estimated to grow to be the third most populous in the world by 2050. It is estimated that half of Nigeria’s population is comprised of very young people under the age of 16 years. These are school age children known for their high propensity to consume. The market of most of the business opportunities featured in this piece are these young people. Consumption of the products is also growing rapidly because Nigeria’s population is also growing at a very high rate, which is about 3% per annum, one of the highest in the world. According to a report by www.marketresearchintellect.com., the Nigeria food and drinks consumption market size was valued at USD51.04 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach USD98.97 billion by 2031, growing at a 6% CAGR from 2024 to 2031. The report further says “With more than 200 million people living there and a growing middle class, the demand for quick and varied food and drink options has increased. The trend towards packaged drinks and snacks for on-the-go has been brought about by rapid urbanization”.
The attraction of the business opportunities featured here is the simplicity of the production processes. Most of them can be produced in a small scale way, either by using simple equipment or doing so as contract producers using facilities of established producers. The attraction is further enhanced by the existence of niches and sub- niches one can use to penetrate the market. A business niche according to www.indeed.com, “is a segment of a larger market that has a specific target audience”. For example Laca-sera, a popular drink in Nigeria pioneered the use of PET/plastic bottles for packaging drinks for people on-the-go, rather than the popular glass bottles that everybody was used to.
Finally, there is a large army of retailers and wholesalers (presumed to be over 600,000 in Nigeria) who carry the stock of these food and drinks products and display them prominently in their business places, thereby enhancing access by buyers. Most stores and supermarkets display food products, because they are impulse products, around the door or cashier points/cash registers so that shoppers can easily pick them up on their way out.
1. BISCUIT PRODUCTION. Biscuit is the original word used to include small baked products [usually of flat shape and other types] based on wheat flour with various inclusions of fat, sugar, and other ingredients. It therefore includes crackers and the more luxurious product called cookies. It is a snack mostly consumed by children and adolescents. It is sold by retail and wholesale shops, restaurants and market shops. The attraction of this business is the fact that one can produce many varieties of biscuits. Actually the potential for varieties of biscuits is endless and only based on one’s imagination. The varieties can be on size, texture, composition, flavor and target market. Popular varieties include digestives, cream crackers, chocolate chips, shortcakes, etc. One can also produce varieties targeted mostly at the very young children which are made to include a lot of sugar and shaped in form of letters (A,B,C) of the alphabet and figures (1,2,3). There are also the ones targeted at adults where the sugar content is made so low. Just pick your own niche and use your imagination to come up with the variety that will appeal to the niche of the market you want to target. Production processes are very simple and one can start by using the facilities of established manufacturers to make your own brand.
2. SPECIAL BREAD PRODUCTION. This is one of the easiest business opportunities to penetrate. This is due to the possibility of making your own specialized brand that is baked in a refreshingly different way to make it stand out in the market. Bread sells so much in Nigeria and the country is considered one of the largest importers of wheat in the world. Most Nigerian families consume bread at least once a day. Bread production involves basic ingredients like flour, salt, yeast and water. There are other ingredients that are added to enhance the flavor or texture and which one can use to distinguish one’s brand. The market is highly competitive but the secret of penetration is to come up with your narrow niche with which you will enter the market. You can have a specialized bread either targeted at young people or elderly people or families. For example, if you are targeting young people, the sugar content will be high and you can have micro sizes with small price tags. The secret of success in this business is to just segment the market and produce a brand with its own taste, texture, composition (butter, chocolate, milk, wheat) and size/shape to appeal to your target market.
3 YOGURT. Yogurt is a fast moving drink made with milk extract, sugar and water. The attraction is the fact that it is highly satisfying due to the tasty milk base, which is popular among the youth and adult population alike. Yogurt also offers the opportunity to have as many flavours as possible to enhance its appeal particularly to the young people. Its production is also very simple and can be started as a small business with very small capital requirement. The secret of success in Yogurt production is to identify the niche you want to serve and produce a variant with characteristics that will appeal to the target market. In Nigeria, Farm fresh yogurt is a very popular and widely recognized yogurt brand.
4. WINE PRODUCTION. Wine production is an attractive business proposition. One can specialize in production of wine for a particular segment of the market that you have identified. It is a status drink consumed at festive occasions and due to the fact that Nigerians are known for partying and having ceremonies and events, wine continues to gain attraction among the middle and upper class folks. Wine production can also be limited to the non-alcoholic variety for those who want to target the segment of those who don’t take alcoholic drinks.
5. POTATO/PLANTAIN CHIPS PRODUCTION. Fried potato/plantain snacks are highly demanded by women and school children. They enjoy growing popularity most especially in urban settings because they are very filling. Potatoes and plantain are sources of food that are very rich in vitamins. Potato/plantain chips can be fried with its taste enhanced by having variants of flavours for the benefit of the market one wants to target. This is a business one can start very small with limited capital. Somebody with limited capital base can use simple packaging processes. For those with more money to start the business, there are other packaging materials like aluminum foil that can be used for a brand targeted at the upper class.
6. CASHEW NUT PACKAGING. Cashew nut is the seed of a cashew apple. It protrudes from the apple rather than being enclosed in the apple. Even though the cashew apple carries the name apple, it does not taste like one. The business of cashew nut packaging involves frying the seed and packaging same. The packaging employed will be determined by the target market. If one is targeting a high class market, it is better to use a sophisticated packaging like aluminum foil. For the general population, one can use nylon packaging. One can also package in glass or plastic bottles.
7. SWEETS. Sweet are snacks rich in sugar that are pleasurable to the mouth and that release a lot of sugar to the body. Candy and sweets production is a highly profitable business in Nigeria with a growing demand among the young people most especially those in the elementary school stage. This business involves the production of varieties of sweet and candies, such as hard chewy candies gummies, chocolate bars and other confectionery products. According to research, the candy and sweets market in Nigeria is expected to continue to grow due to the increasing population, urbanization and rising incomes of the consumer.
8. BOTTLED WATER. Bottled water is an attractive business opportunity because of its health benefit. Water is the only drink that its consumption is encouraged in large quantities. Also due to health concerns, people prefer to take bottled water than water from any other source. Bottled water is drinking water packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. Bottled water may be produced using simple production processes according to one’s financial capability. People with limited capital base can use the facilities of existing water producers to produce one’s brand under one’s brand name.
9. CHIN-CHIN PRODUCTION. Chin-chin is a snack like biscuit that is made of flour and some other food ingredients like salt, sugar, oil and flavor. Its consumption cuts across all age groups. It is a snack that can easily be produced and put in the market place within a very short period of time. It can come with different flavours to enhance its appeal to the identified target market. It is highly profitable due to its strong appeal children and adolescents.
10. PEANUTS PRODUCTION AND PACKAGING. Peanuts are rich in protein, fat and various health nutrients. Peanut production and packaging may vary from just simple packaging into glass bottles up to sophisticated processed variants with coatings made up of ingredients like ordinary sugar, honey, chocolate, vanilla, etc. The packaging can also be enhanced with the use of aluminum foil or paper based bags in rolls of sachets. Peanut production is done with materials as varied as egg, sugar, milk, flour, salt, butter, etc.
Prepared by Sunday Ikotun and Kola Owolabi
Sunday Ikotun is on the consulting staff of David Solomon Consulting Limited. Kola Owolabi is the CEO of David Solomon Consulting – He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management Consultants (FIMC.CMC)
David Solomon Consulting Limited is based in Igbesa, a suburb of metropolitan Lagos, in the vicinity of Crawford University. They can be reached by phone or WhatsApp through 08023203198.
