Business
NASCO, Kellogg battle for Nigeria’s cornflakes market share
Although the recent economic contraction in the country, which meant low purchasing power for consumers, impacted negatively on the bottom line of companies in the FMCG sector, the race for market share in Nigeria’s cereal breakfast category is gathering more intensity.
This has further been strengthened by the growing class of professionals who prefer daily breakfast cereals over more time-consuming traditional breakfast meals such as “pap” (a hot cornmeal).
Also, the ever-increasing child population in the country contributes to the surge in demand for cereal meals, as children are the major targets for the breakfast cereals.
Currently, there are two leading brands in the Nigerian market namely NASCO and Kellogg’s; others are Supreme, Good Morning, Infinity Brands, just to mention a few.
The NASCO brand was launched in 1983 and introduced to the Nigerian market in 1985. The company on its part has introduced a variety of cornflakes into the market such as the frosted flakes and the corn flakes vanilla brands.
While this brand enjoys a lot of goodwill in the market, feedback from consumers shows that more still needs to be done.
Several consumers complained bitterly about the decline in value of NASCO cornflakes and reduction of contents in the various packs. Some also lamented that the NASCO flakes are usually burnt and tasteless, unlike the NASCO flakes of old.
It is closely followed in the race by Kellogg’s. The brand is an American brand which has been around since the 19th century.
Kellogg’s has continued to benefit from its strong brand name, wide product range, and store visibility. Less than 10 years after entering the Nigerian market, it has given NASCO, which used to be a dominant brand, a ‘fight’ for market share.
Currently, there are two varieties of the Kellogg’s corn flakes in the market: the imported and the locally made Kellogg’s Cornflakes.
Many consumers have continued to question the rationale behind this move by the company. They complained of the taste of the locally made Kellogg’s, against the imported one. They complained that the taste is a big disappointment, as it is thick and stodgy, unlike the normal cornflakes which is light and crunchy. However, they expressed satisfaction with the attractive packaging pack.
No doubt, Nigeria has a large market for corn flakes with a population of over 165 million people and an estimated growth rate of 5.7% per annum, as well as an average economic growth rate of 3.5% per annum in the past 5 years.
Many consumers describe the two major players as “struggling kings” and advised the producers to focus more on delivering tasty products with high nutritional contents to their consumers.
As for the other small players in the market, more still needs to be done by them to win the hearts of consumers in the country.
