The noodles market is growing big in Nigeria and the current players have not filled the gaps, thereby attracting more players into the sector.
The general manager of an emerging manufacturing company in the foods market, Chijioke Anumoka of Tummy-Tummy Foods Industries Limited, said in Nnewi, Anambra State, recently that the market was expanding on a yearly basis as more Nigerians discover the new food line.
The result is the expansion of production lines by some of the noodles manufacturers in Nigeria who have not filled the market gap, according to Tummy-Tummy general manager who said the Cotech Group in Nnewi, importer of motorcycle parts, had to diversify to noodles and have yet to meet its market share.
Tummy-Tummy Instant Noodles located in the industrial town of Nnewi, according to Anumoka, has opened new production lines to meet daily demand with installed capacity of 45,000 cartons per day. He said the company was however meeting up to 60 percent of that capacity while striving to meet up the balance in few months time.
Indomie and Dangote are top brands in the noodles market in Nigeria, but the Tummy-Tummy boss said noodle was no longer babies’ food but something coveted by adult consumers, saying his company decided to add vegetables (Yellow carton) and seafood (blue carton) as flavouring varieties and that the strategy had attracted huge response in the market.
Cotech was importing motorcycle parts until 2009, when the company tried its hands on noodles and found an explosion. Now, the company employs over 600 workers from casual to management cadre.
The company is owned by Nigerians with Chinese technical partners. The general manager said the involvement of Asians was because of their prowess in the noodles industry, where he said Nigeria was yet a new comer.
Tummy-Tummy hits the market with a bang because of the needs gaps it is filling, especially by giving the consumers a vegetable variety and the seafood flavour, Anumoka said, noting “we are the only company in Nigeria doing this at the moment and the market is responding positively.”
The presence of Chinese experts in the noodles business seemed to help the company fight market competition.
He said 95 percent of noodles consumed in Nigeria were made locally, with little importation, saying however, said the competition was local, as the raw materials were mainly flour sourced in Lagos and Port Harcourt, but expressed sadness with imported materials and the troubles associated with unstable government policies.
The company has not experienced any problems with immigration officials because, according to him, the company is strict with such issues, as “we do not cut corners. All our expatriate personnel have correct papers.”
The company does not play with quality standards, he said, saying it was the key to success and survival in the foods industry because whatever people would eat must be certified by both internal and external authorities and experts.
Ignatius Chukwu & Regis Anukwuoji
