As the curtains opens on 2026, FoodCo, a Top-5 Nigerian retailer with interests in supermarkets, quick service restaurants, manufacturing and entertainment, is proving that with the right amount of vision and grit, homegrown businesses can redefine what is possible in Nigeria’s retail landscape. This is notwithstanding a challenging operating environment marked by double-digit inflation throughout the year.
With household disposable income shrinking, operators in the space faced the options of either closing shop or redesigning their processes to reflect on-the-ground realities. FoodCo chose the latter path, a choice largely influenced by a sense of shared purpose with Nigerian consumers who have supported the business in over forty years of operations. The restructuring was tailored around three core propositions: customer service excellence, innovation and digitalization.
Customer Service: since its inception in 1982, FoodCo has pursued a customer-focused orientation that places the customer at the centre of the business. To achieve even higher outcomes in this area, the company instituted a holistic talent management pipeline aimed at attracting, training and retraining company staff in line with global customer service best practices. Additionally, while new stores are purpose-built to enhance the in-store shopping experience, FoodCo has embarked on a systemic revamp of its legacy outlets for a harmonized feel across the board.
Innovation: faced with an increasingly price-sensitive consumer market, FoodCo responded by directly partnering with local farmers and suppliers to off-take goods at farm-gate prices. This approach significantly improved efficiency along the supply chain thereby easing the cost burden on customers. The company is also active within the SME and local business circuits where it educates entrepreneurs and small business owners on shifting customer behaviours, predictive trends, and new thinking in product design and packaging. This cost-free advisory is backed by credible in-house data garnered from the company’s operations, routine market surveys and real-time market intelligence.
Digitalization: the company embraced influencer marketing with celebrity heavyweights such as Ms. Sola Sobowale, a beloved Nollywood icon, driving the campaign to amplify visibility and customer engagement for brand offerings and activities. FoodCo is also positioning itself for the future by building affinity with the teeming youth population through digital-led activations, an enhanced online shopping experience and active WhatsApp Group engagements.
Charting New Paths for Modern Retail
FoodCo’s rise from a fruit and vegetable stall in Bodija, Ibadan, to a retail powerhouse in Southwest Nigeria has been founded on a singular vision: to bring the convenience, hygiene and cost-saving benefits of modern retail to underserved middle-class communities. In just a little over forty years, the store count has grown to twenty-three and counting, spread across the major cities of Ibadan, Lagos and Abeokuta. The business also operates under four distinct units: supermarkets, quick service restaurants, manufacturing and entertainment.
But, growth has not only been in store count. Driven by the accelerated adoption of digitalization and other evolutions in a post-COVID-19 world, the business has expanded to offer an online supermarket and delivery service. This has pivoted the company into an end-to-end retail enabler with significant influence from production, to logistics, and last-mile distribution.
With over two thousand employees and an intricate network of vendors, producers, suppliers and end-users connected along the value-chain, FoodCo has become a major contributor to the Southwest Nigeria economy particularly the areas of job creation and government remittances.
Speaking on the business’ performance for the year, Ade Sun-Basorun, MD/CEO, says: “FoodCo’s strong scorecard for 2025 is a testament to a business that is not just surviving but indeed thriving. In a year that was largely defined by economic volatilities, we decided to pursue purpose-driven growth by incorporating adaptive risk management protocols, enhancing value across all touch-points and deepening trust with customers. The outcomes remind us that sustainable growth should not only be viewed from the lens of square footage or profits, but from the collective growth of all stakeholders within the system whether government, operator, customer, vendor or the communities we serve.
“In 2025, we are proud to show that we have expanded our store footprints, contributed to the continuous prosperity of both our home governments and neighbourhoods, and most importantly, kept fidelity with the Nigerian consumer that we are their trusted family brand for grocery, fresh produce, household essentials, dining, bread, confectionery and all things retail. Our growth is not just about opening stores but about creating access to modern, affordable retail within communities that need it the most.”
Accolades
Undoubtedly, 2025 was a standout year for FoodCo. Early celebrations began in May when the Financial Times of London listed the company as the second fastest-growing retailer on the continent in its Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies 2025 list. Ranking was based on compound annual growth in revenues (CAGR) from 2020 to 2023. This marked FoodCo’s third appearance on the elite list which placed it 21st in Nigeria and 66th overall among 130 honorees drawn from across the continent.
In November, FoodCo was named the Retail Brand of the Year at the Nigerian Business Leadership Awards (NBLA) organized by BusinessDay Media Limited. It was the company’s second consecutive win; fourth time for the title category; and fifth winning within the NBLA series. The 2025 honour was in recognition of the company’s innovativeness and sustainability in navigating environmental challenges including double-digit inflation and policy uncertainties.
Rounding it off, FoodCo was named the Best Retail Organization for Range Excellence at the Africa Retail Academy (ARA) Awards 2025, organized by the prestigious African Retail Congress of the Lagos Business School. This award underlined the company’s commitment to diverse, high-quality product offerings and strong customer-centric retail practices.
Forging Alliances, Shaping the Future
A major milestone which highlighted FoodCo’s growing influence in Africa’s retail sector was the courtesy visit by the Africa Retail Congress, led by the chairman, Professor Louis Nzegwu, to the company’s head office in Ibadan. Discussions coalesced into a strategic partnership in the critical areas of talent development, skills exchange, policy advocacy, and capacity building across the Nigerian modern retail sector. Both organizations will be combining efforts to accelerate market access for local brands, open modern trade channels to more SMEs, and strengthen the overall competitiveness of African retail, with Southwest Nigeria and FoodCo’s network of 23 community-centered stores as the driving point for transformation.
Amid rapid growth, FoodCo continues to invest in its people. This is based on the understanding that true success is built on the foundation of a capable and trusted community. Internally, the company has established two capacity-building programs to help nurture talents that will drive the next generation of retail growth within the Nigerian industry. While the Leadership Development Program (LDP) aims at developing leaders for management roles in retail, the FoodCo Fellowship is targeted at attracting and grooming high-performing individuals who are desirous of building a long-term career in African retail. Both programs are immersive, 2 years, and combine retail theory with practical real-world experiences.
For external stakeholders, FoodCo is deeply committed to ensuring the sustainability of its communities. It has donated boreholes to provide potable water to vulnerable neighbourhoods within its host communities and distributes educational care packs to children in public primary schools through its School Drive initiative. The Adegbenga Sun-Basorun Scholarship Scheme, set up in memory of the first chairman of the company, is also on course to support one thousand students across Oyo State.
