How to Start a Frozen Food Business in Nigeria

Frozen food business is vast, there are various aspects that are considered as frozen foods. So, to start one you have to be sure on which one you would like to go into, I would let you in on some of the different types, your job is to pick an interest.

Types of Frozen Food in Nigeria

Poultry/Meat products- This is the most common type we have and see around, this business involves selling chicken, chicken wings, turkey, beef, goat, pork and sausages. You could either sell just poultry products or meat products or you could sell both in other to have varieties for consumers. People always eat meat so be sure you will always sell.
Sea food- In this case you only sell sea foods like different types of fish, crabs, lobsters, prawn and snails etc. These ones are mainly found in malls and supermarkets but having this as a business around residential homes or hotels won’t be a bad idea because most times people have to go to the market or malls to get them.
Frozen yoghurt- Aside the health benefits you get from adding yoghurt to your daily diet, they taste fabulous and it is a wonderful business idea because you have varieties of flavors to choose from, plus the competition in Nigeria isn’t high yet. I personally will pick frozen yoghurts over ice cream, I mean they are healthy and taste really good.
Mobile frozen food- With this type of business, you move around with your products inside a van, so you still have the opportunity of picking which one you want to venture into. You could have a frozen yoghurt van or a sea food van, it could be a life saver, people won’t have to go to the mall or market to get these things to buy.

Categories of Frozen Food Business

There are two categories of frozen food business

Distributor- This case you either a wholesale or retail distributor of these products from other companies. That means, you will buy/import from the companies who manufacture these products and sell in bulk or pieces to consumers. You will need a cold room, storage facility and a delivery van.
Producer- This involves manufacturing, processing and packaging of your own products under your company labels. This means a higher capital than a distributor and a license. This type of business cost a whole lot more to start and you will need to hire lots of people to work in your company, and a bigger store. The staffing list for this type of business isn’t listing here.

Cost of Starting a Frozen Food Business (Budget)

Having an idea of how much you will need to start and open any business is important. You will need a budget of things you need, the things to consider are:

Deep freezer
Shop
Stand-by generator
Table for cutting
chairs
Fan or AC
Scale
Knives and axe
Bowls and basins
Branded bags for packaging
Hand wash and towel

Location

Where do you want to open your store? You need a place close or around people, a residential area, around restaurants, hotels, events planners and fast food joints etc. Where people can just walk a short distance to get to you or a call to get you deliver the goods to them.

The environment- This involves cleanliness, making sure not only your environment but also your neighbors, people get attracted by how clean the environment is.
Your target customers – That is people you would want to attract to your business, this will determine the kind of frozen food business you open and your choice in location.
Space- This involves the size of the store and storage space. The amount of freezer you will need but nothing less than two, a work space and a counter, you will also want to have a chair or two so your customers can seat while you package their goods.

Staff

This type of business you can either work along or employ few people to work with you except you are looking at something really large, and in that case, you will need a team.

Sales representative- You can get a sales person to help talk to customers and sale the products.
Cashier- This person will deal strictly with money that comes in and out of the store.

A happy staff makes a good business, so treat your staff right and pay them their dues at the right time because they know how much comes in. This will make them dedicated and happy to you.

NAFDAC Approval

Another important thing is to register your company with NAFDAC and other regulatory bodies. Make sure you are certified by NAFDAC, this will make your customers feel safe in purchasing your goods, with the increase of unhealthy products this is an important factor and should not be over looked.

Company Registration

You will need to register your company with Corporate affairs commission (CAC). Steps on how to do this are:

Come up with a name for your bakery, this would be the name you register but you will have to check to make sure no one else is using that same company name.
Download and fill out CAC pre-registration form or fill online.
Check to know the fee and pay to CAC.
Pay stamp duty fee to FIRS.

When all this has been done, scan all documents and upload for processing then submit originals to CAC office in exchange for your certificate.

Profits

This business is a profitable one if you are able to handle it well. You will have to prove to your customers that your goods stand out from the rest, make sure your goods are always fresh and good, never mix fish with meat or poultry because fish has a strong smell and not everyone eats fish. Also, during the festive periods in Nigeria goods always goes up, so you have the luxury of either increasing your prices or sticking to original price for customers satisfactory.

Summary

Before starting a frozen food business research “well that is why you are reading this’, talk to people about it, maybe close friends or relatives, scout for the perfect location without much competitions around and always make sure your goods stand out.

Get your own frozen food business plan! To place order, Pay N10,000 to:

BANK NAME: GUARANTY TRUST BANK (GTB)

ACCOUNT NAME: CHIBUZOR TOCHI ONYEMENAM

ACCOUNT NUMBER: 0044056891

BANK NAME: FIRST BANK PLC

ACCOUNT NAME: CHIBUZOR TOCHI ONYEMENAM

ACCOUNT NUMBER: 3066880122

After payment, send your full name, email address and topic (i.e. Frozen Food Business Plan pdf) to 07033378184. Your business plan will be sent to your email within 15 minutes.