By Adejuwon osunnuyi
That the Nigerian consumer market has remained an attractive space for investors cannot be overemphasized. Little wonder that in the food and ready-to-eat segment of the market space, there has been a phenomenal increase of activities. In this market segment, biscuits, in different forms and categories, which are widely eaten among young children and even adults, obviously remain relevant.
Though Nigeria is home to several local and international manufacturers of biscuits, interestingly, the local manufacturers are holding their own in the struggle for market share, as they easily have command of over 50%.
In the biscuit industry, however, while it can be categorized into three categories namely cookies/crackers, sweet and chocolate, international biscuits and confectionery maker, McVitie’s leads the digestive section. McVitie’s annual global turnover is around $5.2billion as it sells about 2 billion units of the product annually.
Going by reports, the preference for digestive can be understandable. Digestive biscuits are healthier than their counterparts. This is because of its fiber content. Sometimes described as a sweet-meal biscuit, digestive biscuit was first developed in 1839 by two Scottish doctors to aid digestion.
The term “digestive” is derived from the belief that they had antacid properties due to the use of sodium bicarbonate when they were first developed. They are meant to be lower in sugar (mildly sweet), and due to the presence of more baking soda, eating digestive biscuits are supposed to help those who suffer from acidity. Digestive biscuits are also supposed to help you with your weight loss journey.
The digestive main ingredients include wheat flour, sugar, malt extract, butter (or in cheaper recipes or for vegans or those who are lactose intolerant: vegetable oil), wholemeal, leavening agents (usually sodium bicarbonate, tartaric acid and malic acid), salt.
However, a newly established Nigerian world class manufacturer of cookies and snacks, Mayor Biscuit Company Limited (MABISCO), headquartered in O.P.I.C Industrial Estate, Agbara, Ogun State, Nigeria is already giving McVitie’s and others a good run for their money as the company has been making serious impact in the digestive biscuit section.
Committed to producing innovative products using state-of-the-art machinery and engineering that guarantees only quality products, Mabisco digest has been performing wonderfully well in the market as many consumers have been attesting that it is better than its counterpart, especially the locally produced McVitie’s.
A survey carried out by this medium reveals that Mabisco scores high, not just across parameters of taste and crunch, but it is also priced competitively. According to consumers, Mabisco Digestive biscuits are not only delicious, but it also brings with it all the goodness one expects from a digestive biscuit.
While digestives are more crumbly than crunchy, texture can make or break a good digestive biscuit. Mabisco Digestive has a bigger sized crunchy that turns to powder on chewing. The bigger sized crumb is also what feels fibrous in the mouth. You should expect a soft-crunch in your digestives, rather than a crispy-crunch.
There’s a reason why those who consume the Mabisco digest apparently love the snack. You think of having only one and ending having at least five. The soft crumbly texture and mildly sweet taste, along with how beautifully it becomes a tea-time buddy, are just some of the things everyone who tastes the Mabisco digestive once, gets addicted to.
“Since I bought the Mabisco digest for my children, they cannot just do without it. The biscuit does not have too much of crumbs, unlike the others,” a consumer, Mrs Evelyn Adekunle submitted.
Another consumer who spoke with this reporter noted; “Mabisco digest has the same quality like the quality you get anywhere across the globe.”
“I salute the company producing this high quality digestive. You can hardly know that it is produced in this country. I just pray that they won’t reduce the quality,” Mr. Sunday Ikechukwu said.