Debby Lawson, founder and COO of Fastizers, talking throughout launch of the corporate’s Nibit model.
Nigeria’s tough financial atmosphere is forcing snack meals producer Fastizers to rethink facets of its operations – from shrinking pack sizes to launching new product strains similar to bread – because it grapples with rising enter prices and strain on client spending.
“It’s a extremely powerful terrain now. It’s very, very powerful,” the corporate’s founder, Debby Lawson stated in a latest interview with How we made it in Africa.
The nation’s macroeconomic challenges have deepened in recent times. Inflation exceeded 30% in 2024, whereas the naira has considerably depreciated towards the US greenback over the previous two years. Though trade charges have considerably stabilised and inflation has began to ease, Lawson stated client buying energy stays severely constrained.
Based 15 years in the past, Fastizers is finest identified for its Enjoyable Cookies model, a product with a shortbread-like style. Round 90% of its gross sales come from low-to-middle revenue shoppers in Nigeria – a demographic that’s extremely delicate to cost will increase. Even a small rise, Lawson defined, can drive prospects towards cheaper alternate options.
With uncooked materials and logistics prices climbing, Fastizers has needed to discover methods to soak up rising bills with out passing them on to shoppers.
One tactic has been to cut back pack sizes. “We needed to hold shrinking,” Lawson stated, noting {that a} product that when weighed 50 grams is now offered in a 15-gram model. “But it surely will get to a restrict the place you can’t shrink anymore.”
A few of the firm’s premium choices have additionally struggled to realize traction. “We realise that these excessive premium-priced merchandise [are] not likely working as we anticipated,” she famous. “Proper now, we’re going massively into these smaller merchandise.”
The difficult situations have additionally prompted the corporate to diversify its product line. It just lately entered the bread market, launching a brand new providing beneath the Enjoyable Bread model. “Bread could be very filling,” stated Lawson.
She added that the present atmosphere calls for flexibility, as long-term enterprise planning has develop into more and more unrealistic. “Issues are altering every day. So your five-year plan – by the point you get there, all the pieces has modified,” she stated. “The financial system could be very unstable now.”
Learn our earlier interview with Debby Lawson: How this cookie company cracked the Nigerian market
