A feast of online food in Nigeria

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Online grocery shopping is becoming a crowded market in Nigeria, with new entrants piling in Myfoodshop, Mart.ng, Food Trolley, Organic Haive, Applecart, Easyshop Easycook, Gloo.ng and Supermart.ng are among the players jostling for a piece of the action…

Targeting affluent consumers, these businesses focus on convenience, rather than value for money. According to the website of Gloo.ng, “We don’t sell groceries. We save you time and energy.” Given the relative scarcity of modern grocery retail across much of the country, Nigeria is arguably well suited to the online model, but it will be many years, perhaps even decades, before it becomes a significant channel in grocery retail.

Some of these businesses have very humble beginnings: Self-funded, Abuja-based Mart.ng launched in November 2017, marketing its services door-to-door and taking orders via phone and Whatsapp, before launching a website in May 2018. It operates a model similar to that of US company Instacart, employing shoppers who, upon receiving an order, visit a local supermarket to purchase the requested items, before delivering them to the customer’s home within an hour.

According to CEO Frank Umeadi, “We have plans to expand to Lagos and set up our own offline supermarkets in the near future, but we want to stay focused and solidify our presence in Abuja before expanding.”

Sagaci Research