Victor EzejaMany consumers on a daily basis, form long queues at different branches of Bokku! Mart in Lagos as they wait for hours to buy the bread.
Produced in both white and brown form, the bread has cut the fancy of many consumers across the state. Currently sold at N1,300, people still consider it relatively cheap, considering the prices of other food items, amid the biting hardship in the country.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelPrime Business Africa observes that retailers buy as many as they can and resell at the rate of N1,500 and N1,600.
Some of the consumers, who spoke to Prime Business Africa, said they buy the bread because it is affordable and also has good taste. “The bread has good aroma, is soft and has good taste,” said Jane Okolie, one of the customers who came to buy the bread at Bokku Mart, Ilasamaja branch on Tuesday evening of 27th August 2024. “The price is also affordable when compared to the size and also the state of the economy,” she added.
Formerly sold at N800, the price subsequently increased to N1,100, N1,200, before reaching the current price of N1,300 per loaf.
“We try to make the bread and other things we sell here affordable but the continuous rise in the cost of things in the country is really a big challenge, hence the recent increase in the last few months,” said one of the sales staff at Ilasamaja branch who didn’t want to be named.
The number of consumers seeking to buy the bread are usually more from afternoon until 9 pm closing time.
“Ever since my mother got to know about this bread, she has stopped buying other types. She is always sending me and my siblings to come here and buy,” a young boy who identified himself as Aliyu said.
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“I love the fact that one can get it fresh and hot not like all these brands that they add all kinds of preservatives to make them stay longer,” Juliana Idris, who resides in Isolo said.
Another man who was also on the queue to buy the bread that Tuesday evening said he likes to eat the bread with beans.
“Since I knew this bread, I always like to eat it with beans. Some take it with chocolate tea but I prefer eating it with beans,” he said.
Founded by Adewale Adeyemi, an entrepreneur, the retail chain which started in 2022, has established not less than 75 outlets across the state, mainly on the Lagos mainland.
Apart from the bread, Bokku! Mart also sells other consumables like food items, drinks and toiletries.People equally visit the stores to buy on daily basis.
“Bokku! believes that everyone deserves access to top-quality products at affordable prices. Understanding the economic realities faced by Nigerians, they have managed to strike the perfect balance between quality and cost,” the company stated on its website.
The rate of expansion of the company within two years and the manner in which people line up at various branches waiting to buy the bread has remained a puzzle for many.
Apart from the bread, consumers find other items sold in the mart relatively cheaper when compared to open market and big supermarket stores.
As a trick to lure consumers, Bokku! Mart ran a one week promo between Saturday, 24th and 31st August 2024 in which consumers were offered opportunity to buy a set of items at prices it said were 24 per cent cheaper than open market.
On social media, the product is making a sensation. While some talk about their preference for the bread, others express reservation about its sweet taste.
An X user with username Sen Babs Abu Marzukoh @babs_hubs said one unique thing about the bread is that it has the same taste across all the outlets. “Bokku! is the fastest growing Mart in Lagos, with is bread being a major Household Bread in Lagos at affordable Price.
“I love the fact that the same way the bread in outlet in Mushin tastes is the way the one In Iyana Ipaja will taste,” he wrote.
“The queue is because you have retailers coming to buy in bulk to resell to those who can’t queue and also those who don’t have the outlet in their domain. Nigeria factor is the cause of the queue. Other products come at a relatively good price compared to open market,” @OlaideOladunjo2 stated on why there is always a queue.
“Their bread is not it though. Maybe it’s too much sugar, I can’t tell but it is somehow,” another X user, Robinson Kalo said.
Some stressed the need for the company’s management to improve their operations as some customers at times fight while scrambling to buy the bread, especially in the night when the available quantity seems insufficient for the number of people on the queue.
“Queuing and beating themselves to buy bread. The stores need to do better with their operations. On the quality of the bread, I keep that personal,” @victorioussegun wrote.
With the rising cost of things in Nigeria, bread, like other essential food commodities, is not left out as the prices keep rising.
Bakers have lamented high input costs, largely caused by foreign exchange crisis in Nigeria.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its July 2024 Food Price Watch revealed that wheat flour prices have soared by 129.70% over the past year. Also, the price of a 500g sliced and unsliced bread rose by 118.98%, 119.97% respectively over the past year.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
