As food is one of the basic necessity of lives to human so do feed is a basic necessity of life to animal.
Feed covers about 70% of cost of animal production, that is why farmer need to give their animal better feed from a better brands and that problem has been solved as there are now better feed producer in Nigeria such as Top feed, chikun feed and Vital feed the only problem now is how to get those feed to farmer’s location, this is where you come in as an animal feed distributor.
Animal feed distributor is a lucrative business that can give you high return on investment, if you are ready to work, yes you need to work, from sourcing the feed from the manufacturers to selling it could be a herculean task.
Niches of feed distributors in Nigeria
There are many angle you can take to start an animal distributor business depending on your capital and capability, they are
1) Wholesale animal feed distributor
This requires a lot of capital and work, your job is to get feed from the manufacturer or brand which will be listed after this section and sell it to retailer who will then sell it to farmer.
If you chose this niche you will need to provide a large warehouse and vehicles that will move the feeds around, also you need to deposit money with the manufacturer which will serve as collateral in case you run a away, since they will mostly be given you feed in credit (not all the manufacture).
2) Mini distributor
As a mini distributor you can get feed from wholesaler or from manufacturer but I will advise you to get it from wholesaler it will save you money (deposit) and workload, though you might not be able to buy on credit. Your job here is to supply feed to retailer and farmer.
3) Retailer
Your sole purpose here is to buy from wholesaler or mini distributors and sell directly to farmer. You need less capital here but the profitability is low.
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Equipment needed in feed distributor business
- Scale
- Wheel barrow
- Calculator
- Pallet
- Measuring cups (for retailer)
Major Brands of feed manufacturers in Nigeria and their address
Top feed
Top feed is a house hold name when animal feed is concerned. They have been in the business for long in fact we can call them the domain expert.
Their feed is in high demand but not as before since there are now competitors who are better than them.
Top feed contacts
Top feed Address
Ikeja block D plot 4A Wempco road Ogba Lagos Nigeria
Top feed Phone no
+23417739403
Chikun feed
Chikun feed is the second known feed brand in Nigeria; it is a subsidiary of Olam an international company which deal in food processing.
They earn their popularity as result of quality as their feed is known to increase the rate of chicken growth.
They own both chikun and ultima (newly introduced brand)
Chikun feeds Contacts
Click here to go to their website
Vital feed
Vital feed is recently gaining traction in fact they nearly they beat chikun if not for their newly introduce ultima.
Like other they also produce feed for different animal and their feed also has ability to increase growth rate.
Vital feed Contacts
Vital feed Address
Km 17, Zawan round about, P.O. Box 13462 Jos, Plateau Jos
Lagos office
32, Kudirat Abiola way Oregun Lagos
Vital feed Phone no
07000000999
Vital feed Email address
[email protected]
Animal care feed
Animal care started as a consultant but later move to feed production, they also provide feed for deferent animal such as, chicken, goat and sheep.
Animal care contacts
Animal care Address
Iperu-Ogere road, off Lagos Ibadan expressway Ogere Remo Ogun State
Animal care Phone no
+2348055064171
+2348055064098
How to start feed distributor business in Nigeria
1) Feasibility study
Feed distributor is lucrative but not in every location, you have to research and find suitable location for your business.
Whatever location you find check if there is
- Potential customers
- Competitors and how do you tackle them?
- Motor able road
- Is it closer to your customers?
To know how to conduct a feasibility study click this link
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2) Business plan
Write a business plan which will contain your goal for the business, what do you want the business to become in the next five years, write it down and include how you will get there.
If you will be using the plan to secure loan, you need to include cost analysis, profitability, executive summary and others and make sure it is simple and concise.
To know how to write business plan click this link
3) Register your business
If you are starting as a retailer you can pend this for a while but if it is distributor you need to register your company with CAC (Corporate Affairs Commission) and other government agency to avoid problem from the authorities.
4) Set up shop or warehousing
Next thing to do is to set up your shop or warehousing. For distributor you will need a large warahousing that can house many feeds while retailer can use shop.
Whatever you use let the feeds be far away from the wall and window to avoid dampness also put pallet on the floor before you put feed on it.
5) Source for feed
This step is not hard for retailer and mini distributors but for distributor it might be a little hard to find manufacturer.
To find manufacturer quickly, make sure your location has less competitor and prepare to deposit, which will serve as collateral.
6) Staffing
You can’t do it alone you will need helping hand. Interview worker well before employing them, be patient do not rush it, it is better to wait and employ trustworthy person than otherwise.
Below are the staff you will need
- Cashier
- Recorder
- Carrier
- Manager
- Securities
7) Marketing
Marketing feed is not hard since you are a distributor, most of the marketing would have been done by the supplier.
Never the less you still need to make people aware of your business, to do that you can take the following steps
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Flyers
Flyers are good when you need to kick start your business. Create a quality flyer and distribute it to friends and family
Offer reduced price
This is the best way to make people know that your business exists. Reduce the price and see how people will line up to your warehouse even if it is just #20.
Sign post
Sign post works in two ways, it will direct people to you and also serve as awareness, when people see it they will know that someone is selling feed and they will surely come back when they need it.
Social media
Create account on popular social media and update your follower with pictures and price of feed every day.
Website
You can create ecommerce website to sell your feed with content that will drive traffic to it. You can contact us for that.
Cost of starting animal feed distributor business
It depend on your scale for wholesaler you will need up to #5,000,000 considering deposit that you will need to make, for others you can start with #500,000 to #2,000,000
How profitable is animal feed distributor business
Profit in feed distributor is little by little I’m talking about #50 to #150 on a bag of feed.
A wholesaler should be able to sale at least 300 bags of feed per day, mini distributor should sell at least 100 bags feed per day , while retailer should also be able to sell at least 50 bags of feed per day provided they are in good location.
To sum it up
Wholesaler should have #30,000 profits per day
Mini distributor should have #10,000 profits per day
Retailer should have #5,000 profits per day
Challenges of starting feed distributor business
1) Bad location
Feed distributor is a location base businesses don’t expect people in Lagos to buy from you if you are in Delta. If you chose bad location there is marketing campaign that will help you.
2) Bad feed setting
If you stack your feed wrongly it will get spoiled easily and if you sell it out, you just destroy your reputation.
Make sure your feeds are far from window, wall and floor. Stock feed that you now you can sell in 2 weeks.
3) Credit
Selling on credit can cripple your business but it is impossible not sell on credit so sell to those loyal customers that you know their company or farm, to avoid story that touch.
4) Extortion
When transporting your feed prepare some money for police or else they will delay you for noting, forget about correct papers you need to give out something. If you are a hustler; who hates paying police, the only way to go about it is to transport your feed at night.
5) Stealing
It is easy for your staff to steal your money; it will be in #5 which will later add up. So create a system that will prevent them from stealing. Let someone collet the money while other deliver the goods.
Conclusion
Feed distributor is profitable business; if you follow the above step judiciously you will surely laugh to bank.
It is enough looking from the fence you need to take action and stop being a wantrepreneur.
What do you think we miss; kindly tell us in the comment box.
Thanks for reading
