In Nigeria, pasta meals have become a popular meal found in homes across the country. The acceptability of this new found love meal has continued to grow and it has also seen the emergence of new brands challenging for mark share.
The surge in the number of Spaghetti brands in the market has caused serious competition among manufacturers. To make a comparative analysis, BusinessDay picked Dangote Spaghetti, Honeywell Spaghetti, Golden Penny Spaghetti, and a foreign brand, Bonita Spaghetti.
Flour Mills Nigeria Plc, makers of Golden Penny Spaghetti, is the first operator of a pasta plant in Nigeria. The Golden Penny brand was launched about two decades ago in Apapa, with the Iganmu manufacturing plant commissioned in 2003. Barely a decade, the second plant became operational in Agbara in 2012. Golden Penny Spaghetti brand remains one of the prominent brands in the market. It gets done in 10 minutes and goes perfectly with little sauce or stew.
Other big players in the spaghetti war include Dangote Spaghetti, manufactured by Dangote Group, Honeywell Spaghetti, produced by Honeywell Nigeria Plc, Crown Spaghetti, produced by Crown Flour Mills and last but not least are the Power Spaghetti brand.
In the bid to outperform the competitors in the market, manufacturers of spaghetti in the country have adopted an aggressive media campaign, leveraging on television commercials, promos, bus branding which stares at consumers while the buses are on the move – a more varied way of reaching their target audience, especially children. Other strategies employed include billboards, press releases and radio jingles. With these strategies, it has become apparent that consumers have no choice but to fall head over heels for the product.
Mrs. Nneka, a consumer revealed that Golden Penny Spaghetti is her favourite as it doesn’t get soggy (overdone) when cooked, although other brands are not doing badly in the market.
Mrs. Godfrey, a food vendor noted that price is a major factor she considers while buying her brand. She also stated that local brands are doing well in the market.
Growth hampered by decrepit infrastructure
Flour Mills Nigeria Plc a major player in the spaghetti market recorded N297 billion in revenue for the nine months ended 31st December 2018, representing 2% decline compared to N304 billion recorded the same period last year. According to the company, the drop in revenue is disappointedly related to the logistics upheavals posed by traffic challenges in Apapa.
Honeywell Flour Mills, makers of Honeywell Spaghetti and one of the listed flour milling companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), is struggling to remain in the pasta market. According to its recent financial reports, profit from the company’s Ikeja factory (The Ikeja plant is concerned with the production of noodles and pasta) fell sharply to N89.6 million in 2018, as against N780.8 million in the prior year.
The company attributed this to the rising cost of sales and the absence of foreign exchange gains. The spike in the cost of sales was due to an increase in the cost of raw and packaging materials. Many industry watchers believe that the sharp drop in revenue is indicative of the fierce competition in that space.
OLUFIKAYO OWOEYE
