The idea for a packaged nut snacks and flour supplies store began to take shape in Chigozie Bashua’s mind in 2012, while she was on a visit to the United Kingdom. She had stopped by a nut store in London and was impressed by the products she found on its shelves. They were processed and packaged nuts, many of them originally sourced from Africa; or at least they were available back home in their unprocessed state. It triggered a thought process which would eventually lead to her setting up of The Nut Place back in Lagos.
Chigozie found it puzzling that nuts shipped from Nigeria were being processed beyond the country’s shores, only to be resold to Nigerians at prices several times what they could go for if the trade was kept wholly at home. Her entrepreneurial instincts kicked in, and she began turning over possible solutions to this apparent anomaly.
She came upon an answer- an organic products supplier that would get the nuts processed and packaged in Nigeria. Her aim was to complete the value addition chain locally, turn the demand for these finished products homeward, and reap from the outcome of this process. It was a grand vision, but she was eager to bring it to life.
Years later, The Nut Place is carving a niche in Nigeria’s organic products market. Its packaged foods are finding their way to more tables; the brand is gaining prominence. In 2018, it was named one of Nigeria’s Top 100 Emerging SMEs. The recognition was a joint initiative of ConnectNigeria and Union Bank. Thanks to the support of its many customers and followers, The Nut Place was numbered among the forward-looking SMEs awarded for their outstanding work.
The Nut Place store in Lagos sells a range of food products- coconut flakes, tiger nuts, roasted cashew nuts, tiger nut flour, etc to individual customers, as well as manufacturers which use some of these items as baking ingredients. These products are also delivered to people who order for them on the company’s online storefront or via SMS.
Chigozie wants the company to become the largest nut processor and exporter of nuts and nut-based flours in Africa by 2023. It’s a big dream, but she seems to be going about it with the sort of keenness you’d think is required to make this dream a reality. In the meantime, she’s having a go at helping to complete the local value chain.
In 2016, Chigozie was accepted into the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s program for entrepreneurs. She says the knowledge she gained and the connections she made at the program were instrumental to successfully building her venture. But she’s also been a business savvy person long before her experience there, and certainly relies on practical wisdom she’s picked up before and after the program.
While there’s still some distance to go before it reaches its ambitious target, The Nut Place continues to claw its way to national significance. Perhaps getting in among the top emerging businesses in the country is just the beginning of a winning streak on the path to its ultimate aim- continent-wide dominance. It is edging in this direction one packet of tasty nuts at a time.
Featured Image Source: The Nut Place
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