How Ummie Nuhu Grows Her Food Business in Nigeria

We love to share experiences from real-time experts breaking ground in their fields.

Today, we get to walk with Ummie Nuhu, an expert in the Nigerian Food Space expanding the frontiers of her business. In this virtual interview, she shares strategies she has adopted from the start of her business and how they influence growth. 

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Stay with me.

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We had to get a bit of background on her business, so we asked her when she started her Food Business and she had this to say:

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“I started my food business a long time ago, as far back as in the 1990s from making local candies and snacks to sell in the Islamic school to making cakes after my secondary school to sell in the corner shop just beside our house. But I officially structured and registered my business in 2015 with the CAC when entrepreneurship became the in thing.”

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I know you definitely are interested in seeing how she built out over the years, well she did share that with us. “For every business to grow you have to go back to the drawing table and look at what works for the business and not then from there you tweak ideas in order to get the desired business growth. Constant self-development and business development are paramount for business growth such as financial literacy etc.”

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She also spoke on the importance of customers in growing your business, you might want to apply this to yours. They are the lifeblood of your business she highlights, “I always say customers are the heartbeat of every business. Without them then you are not even in business. Having a good and strategic Customer Relations management system is very key in any business. Create a workable system that your customers' experience is topnotch and you stay top of mind at all times.’’

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You definitely cannot grow a business at all without taking the current economic situation of the country into account, “With the 2020 pandemic and the increasing inflation rate in the world, the profit margin of the food business has unfortunately reduced to about 40% to 30%  as against the almost 90% to 80% per-covid. Not only the food businesses but all business owners are suffering from this situation.’’

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Staying afloat even through an unstable economy is key for you, she shared a tip on how she stays afloat “To stay afloat in Business you have to keep innovating and know what works for your business as no two businesses are the same.’’

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She has some advice for those looking to venture into this space “Before starting your food business have an education about the industry and learn to focus on what works for you and develop on it.’’

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It was really interesting getting to hear Ummie’s POV on the food space, you may want to check out more food businesses breaking ground here.

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