Raheem Akingbolu
The Digestive Segment of the Nigerian Biscuits industry is increasingly getting popular by the day as new variants grow the number surprisingly at a time investment in manufacturing is on the dwindling side.
Credence for the popularity, however, goes to McVitie’s, one of the market leaders. McVitie’s UK brand heritage helped in no small measure to set up and establish a feasible category.
Mcvitie’s Nigeria took off from this position of strength as the McVitie’s franchise operator in the most populous country in sub-urban Africa. The success of the brand has led to the increasing growth of the segment especially as a good snack and a substitute (imperfect maybe) for bread as consumers claim digestive goes down well with tea or other beverages for that matter.
Yale with its wide range of Digestive biscuits and many imported Asian products in this category also struggle with the market leader without any noteworthy impact against the leader. Hence, this story was inspired by a new entrant stealthily eking out an enviable position for itself as a digestive product to be reckoned with in the Nigerian market space.
As the debate continues, a group of students who experienced Nigeria’s version have concluded that the product is a challenger working its way up the ladder in the market.
Before, now, quite a number of Digestive consumers have been sold on McVitie’s, especially the foreign version. However, growing dissimilarities in tastes is a disservice to the brand, especially the version sold in the country.
Recently, a group of selected journalists, who went on tour of the factory with the aim of reviewing the product were exposed to the making of the three variants – Yale Fiber Active Digestive, McVities Digestive and MaBisco Digestive, with each attracting N50 only at same price point.
You’ll be shocked by the obvious similarities of the packaging of the last two – McVities Digestive and MaBisco. In the choice of colours and pack designs, the two are “too close for comfort”. Of course, the manufacturers of the latter, other than the former, have a case to answer in this regard. In packaging, Yale is distinctly different just as McVitie’s Hobnob.
In content, Yale offers more quantity in this N50 SKU – 8 biscuits although of reduced thickness and diameters, the product is a bit too crunchy for a digestive and tasting too far from the traditional Digestive heritage and most likely too dry also.
The McVities and MaBisco contents appear to be at par at about 46g. The competition is headlong! A mini blind taste test carried out for the purpose of distinguishing the products proves McVitie’s Nigeria is far a cry from the UK Original, the new MaBisco has tendencies of tasting more like the original McVitie’s taste hence its ability to make a huge chunk of disciples from the adherents of old McVities recipe. Unlike the Yale product, MaBisco does not break unnecessarily and is better than others when you consider leaving crumbs on you as you savour your biscuits.
The clincher one guesses is MaBisco’s audacious and bold claim on every SKU from its factory as it boldly claims, “The original Naija recipe”. It is unapologetically Nigerian! Swayed by this claim, the bulk of current consumers of biscuits who know little or nothing of the original McVities, say the new product reflects an “original Naija and by extension African taste palate”. This gives the latest entrant a thumb up over the 120 years old McVitie’s and others.
While the above may defer sound logic, one cannot discountenance observable elements of patriotic zeal in the submissions by respondents. According to Temitope Eniafe, a fresh local product taking it up against a very old and established British brand with a global presence should be commended if only for the daring spirit. Lekan Ajayi, who also gave the Digestives’ blind taste test to little-known MaBisco equally holds that the product is starting off on a good note and deserves to be applauded coming from a disadvantaged Nigerian background to hold its own against a global brand and imported Asian products.
Baring the similarities in colour motifs and package designs between the two foremost contenders, a segment of biscuits lovers averred the Nigerian Digestive Biscuit product from Mayor Biscuits company is ready and fit to take on the market leader in Nigeria and by extension the African market. They allude to the product’s “Proudly Naija signature and distinguishable African taste bud and the product make-up” as a strength for the fledgling brand.
