How to Start Food Canteen Business in Nigeria

Food canteen business is Hot, and that is simply because people are getting more and more engaged around the clock, it's becoming a 24/7 community. so if you're a good cook and have good cooking skills then i think this business is for you. No one wants to pay for or patronize a food business with no tasty delicacies, so you must be sure of your cooking skills or get better still get competent cooks.

There are several businesses in Nigeria in this Niche,but for you do it well you can stand out. There are several road side businesses that cooks local delicacies, but trust me food business can be bigger than that, I know of one food business in Lagos that used to supply companies pre-packed foods every workdays. so in this guide i will be divulging all the details to help you start a food canteen business from scratch and scale it bigger.

Food canteen is in no way a easy business, it also entails lots of planning and many factors to be considered.

One of the factors is your ability ot supply to supply to customers different delicacies of meal on request, no doubt Nigeria is culture Rich and you will find different people with different taste buds for various types of dishes. so you will need a vast kitchen team to meet up with that type of demands.

 How to Start Food Canteen Business in Nigeria

You need to also know the traction to give to your business and scale it based on that, food business in Nigeria is in several classes, we habe the Fast food, like the Abokis who makes Indomie and Egg, or the woman you see every morning who sells rice and beans in your neighbourhood, Another class is the Canteen business, this are food sellers who have a location where they make those foods and their customers come to patronise them there, the third class is the Restaurant owners, this the biggest class and requires lots of funding, this method is usually used by resort homes and hotels, in restarants several international and locally made dishes are served and the environemt of the business is quite large too.

But for the sake of this article, we are coming for the second class, the medium scale food canteent business where you have a location setup to make varieties of dishes of for your customers.

Why would anyone want to start a Food canteen business in Nigeria?

Just as i mentioned earlier, that the environment is getting busier, espicially for mid-aged people who want to just quickly move on with their day-to-day activities without getting distracted.

Another reason why the business is hot is that some people, especially singles arguably thought it is cheaper to eat-out that to make them on their own.

Moreoever, many people like to have different combinations of food, i have a friend who likes to have a combination of bitter leave, Ogbonno and Egusi soup with Fufu every afternoon. If has to preapre that in his house he up for a big budget, but with less than a NGN 1000 he can laways have a tastly plate of his favorite lunch delicacy.

How to Start the business in Nigeria

1. Strong and Good cooking Skills

TO start food canteen business, it can't be over-emphasised that you need to have very good cooking skills, because that will be one of your unique selling Points, but If you are the type that just want to take on the investment side, you can of course employ skilled cooks to prepare the meals on day to day basis, of course it works both ways.

2. Map out non-complicated Business Plan

Starting a business without planning and budgeting is not something anybody would want to do. So it is important for you to map out your business plan, and make sure it encompasses key areas of your business like zoning, production, marketing, licensing, etc.

You can as well check out our freebies section to download our free business plan template.

3. Make research

Beofre starting your business, you need to do some findings like how to source your foodstuffs, ingredients and recipes cheaply, where to buy your kitchen utencils, furniture and other cheaply,  the location and zoning appropriate for your business, how to get reliable employees, how to get your business licensed, etc.

4. Get licensed

More than 70 percent of small scale businesses in Nigeria are not registered with the Authorities, getting your business registered and licensed means you mean business and to your customers it means Fidelity. It will give your buainess traction and also get other financial support from commercial banks of need.

5. Be innovative

There are cometitions every where, but you can stand out of that competition if you're innovative in your business practices, being hygienic, bringing on engaging activities to your business location like watching sports and movies, giving time based freebies like handfans, pencils, erasers and all that to you clients and many more you can think of to make you better in the eyes of your customers.

6. Get good staffs

Your Workforce must be a strong one, well cordianted and balanced, os when you're bringing pon anybody as part of your business be sure they are competent enough to deliver on the business. Be sure they are hospitable, well-tempered, cultured and caring.

7. Promote your business

Promotion is the soul of any business, without promoting your business it is like building a massive trade centre in the forest where no one can see or patronise, you can promote your business on large or small scale by making fliers, business cards, radio adverts and all that.

8. Be Spiritual, Watch and Pray

9. Build a Brand

Lastly and most importantly is building a unique brand, like McDonald, Mr. Biggs, those companies have worked well on their brands that they now sell franchise.

GoodLuck!

Wednesday 27 December 2017 Information