Every delicious Nigerian meal is often accompanied by either palm or vegetable oil. Recent market research has shown that many Nigerian women now prefer to cook their meals with vegetable oil rather than use palm oil for many personal reasons. Hence, the importance of eating an affordable and healthy vegetable oil for all Nigerians cannot be downplayed.
A huge market has given room for healthy competition among some major Nigerian edible oil brands such as Power Oil, from the stable of Dufil Prima Foods Plc; Sunola Oil, manufactured by Sunseed Nigeria Limited; Grand Oil, produced by Grand Cereal and Oil Limited; Mamador and Devon King Oil, manufactured by PZ Wilmar Limited, a subsidiary of PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc.
Other competitors in the market include Famili Pure Vegetable Oil, Leisure Pure Vegetable Oil as well as other imported edible oil brands, such as Wesson Canola. The market is however dominated by five brands namely Sunola Oil, Grand Oil, Power Oil, Mamador and Devon King. These top brands are also playing up some marketing elements such as product segmentation into more affordable smaller sizes, repackaging and availability to enhance consumer attention and acceptance.
Something very interest about the vegetable oil market competition is the game of numbers as the potential customers basically belong to three different social classes such as the upper, middle and lower classes respectively.
VEGETABLE OIL & HEALTHY LIVING
Nutritionists have attributed the prevalence of heart-related diseases to the intake of vegetable oil brands which contain components that are not heart-friendly. According to a nutritionist, Mr Kingsley Okey, most vegetable oils in the market are preserved by a process called partial hydrogenation. A process whereby a fraction of the unstable polyunsaturated fats are converted to much more stable Trans fats. And it is these Trans fats that give commercial vegetable oils their unnaturally long shelf lives.
Producers of vegetable oil in the country are now positioning their products based on consumers’ health consciousness, while also paying attention to product repackaging and visibility.
Also, brands in the country now rely on endorsements from the Nigerian Heart Foundation (NHF) and Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN) to reinforce the confidence consumers have in made-in-Nigeria brands. The various regulatory agencies in the country such as the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) among others have also embarked on a series of sensitisation programs on the need to buy only cholesterol-free vegetable oils.
PRICE
One of the strategies adopted by the aforementioned top brands is the availability of the product to enhance consumer attention and acceptance of their products over foreign brands. Prices have always differentiated the upper from the middle and lower class.
In the “battlefield”, price has become a very important factor as the various brands battle for market share and profitability. Interestingly, prices for different carton sizes of the vegetable oil brands differ depending on the market location.
Price has become very significant as the battle for market share heats-up and prices differ in different market locations. For example, a 3-litre plastic bottle of Grand Oil sells for N2,997; Power Oil sells for N2,480; Devon King for N3,000. A 1litre bottle of Devon Kings Oil sells for between N900 and N1,000; Mamador Oil sells for N870 while Sunola Oil goes for N950. The 5-litre Devon King and Sunola Oil sell at N3,750 and N4,300 respectively.
Also, 0.75cl of Grand Oil, Power Oil and Mamador Oil sell for N590, N625 and N850 respectively. Prices for different carton sizes of the vegetable oil brands differ according to the market location. This factor has however pitched the producers against each other, forcing them to scramble for space in the edible oil market.
HOW POWER OIL TOOK OVER THE MARKET
Before Power Oil came into the market with the bright idea of making its products available to all Nigerians no matter their social class or social status, vegetable oil used to be very expensive and only available mostly for the upper and middle class alone simply because they were the ones who could afford to buy regularly. However, with the introduction of edible and healthy vegetable oil in small quantities sometimes in 2018, it became much easier for the larger portion of the populace to also enjoy quality.
POWER OIL – 75ML SACHET
The 75ml sachet was the first sachet oil introduced into the Nigerian market, used for mostly frying and cooking of small portions of food like fried plantain/yam and eggs, stir fry and concoction rice etc. It is sold for N50 only
POWER OIL – 160ML SACHET
In the bid to kick against the use of unbranded oils, the 160ml sachet was created to cater and create a more heavy usage option for its consumers as a single-serve option. It is sold for N100 only.
MARKET REVIEW
City People’s Brands & Product visited three different markets; Oshodi, Agege and Igando and asked consumers the cheapest and healthy vegetable oil they could afford. Some accepted to speak, some declined and some pleaded anonymity. Here are some of the responses.
My name is Chioma Chidiebere, I am a trader in this market (Agege) and I sell children wears. I use power oil to cook for my family and the reason is simple. Each time I buy N50 sachet, I can conveniently use it to cook a pot of soup or stew that my family will eat for two days. It is cheaper for us and we know it is healthy too because they sell for both the rich and poor.
Okunola Adebisi is a civil servant who also spoke to Brands & Products, he said “I grew up knowing Kings Vegetable Oil. I have always known it to be very healthy. While growing up, ‘aburo’ was rampant but with all the attached health challenges, my family and I will stick to the brand that we trust.
According to Yetunde Ajibodede, a restaurant operator at Igando area of Lagos, some of the Vegetable Oil producers have come to understand what the significance of packaging and quality can do to a business. She said Power Oil pioneered the pillow pack (sachet) market. While noting that overtime packaging has been a major challenge in the vegetable oil industry, “they have all overcome it.” She added: “Before now, they never wanted to deviate from their traditional ways of packaging their products, transiting from tin gallons to plastics is a step that has revolutionalised the industry. Power Oil has always been my choice because it is cheap and affordable.” According to one of the consumers who pleaded anonymity, “Devon Kings Oil has been the best. It is everywoman’s choice, it has grown to become a generic name for vegetable Oils.”
A full housewife Mrs Biola Nnamdi, said Mamadorhas been the preferred oil used for producing the product. “I have been using Mamador after trying some others which did not give me the expected result in the manufacture of my product.”
Adetoun Rasaki is a student at the Lagos State University and her response to Brands & Products was very simple. “As a student, I most times do not have the wherewithal to store foodstuff so what I do any time I need vegetable oil is get Power Oil at the nearest shop. It has been saving me since 1900 (laughs).
Jemimah Seriki resides in Oshodi, she is a petty trader who also spoke on how affordability has made her become a permanent consumer of Power Oil. I buy power oil simply because I can get it easily at Oshodi. Any time I go to the market, I can buy 5 or 6 so that I can use it for a week or two and it has been saving me from a lot of headache. Even my neighbours too like it because it is cheap and it is everywhere.
From the survey at the three locations visited by Brands & Products, there is no doubt that Devon Kings, Mamador, Sunola and Power Oil. However, the sachet power oil seems to have caught the attention of many consumers. Many now have the purchasing power simply because of the price. A cue to other brands who will also like to maximise the population at the lower rung of the ladder and keep the competition healthy for the sole benefit of the consumers and the brands involved.
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