Is O! Snack a Marketing Mistake?

History has it that noodles were first marketed by Momofuko Ando, born in Southern Taiwan, when the Island was under Japanese colonial rule on August 25, 1958, under the brand name Chicken Ramen. Little wonder a poll in the year 2000 claimed that instant noodles were the most important Japanese invention of the century. Since Indomie debuted in Nigeria 11 years ago, the noodles market has become a stomping ground for all food processing companies who scramble for a piece of the action by introducing all manner of the product. Ralph Tathagata surveys the market and reports that O! Snack, a ready-to-eat brand of noodles on the stable of Superfine Foods Ltd, a subsidiary of Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, is yet to see the light of the market.

The remarkable market revolution of noodles on the Nigerian culinary landscape cannot be overstretched. Since Indomie, a brand on the stable of Dufil Prima Foods Plc blazed the trail into Nigeria in 1988; the noodles market has witnessed an unparalleled introduction of a choice of noodles brands. Reports have it that by 2008, nine additional brands had already appeared on the market scene.

Interestingly, the Nigerian noodles market has been enjoying a mass embrace which has also spurred intense production competition, with players launching diverse flavours from Chicken to Suya and Onion, among others, and lastly snacks.

Honeywell Superfine Foods, makers of O! Noodles introduced a ready-to-eat snack in 15g pack on October 2008, under the brand name O! Snack, to expand its noodles brands and gather up more market share. The flavours include O! Snack Chicken, O! Snack Hot and O! Snack Spicy.

During the launch, Mr. Paul Oteri, General Manager, Sales Superfine Foods had disclosed that the snack’s marketing strategy was targeted especially at children and other consumers of noodles who were yearning for something handy that could serve as a light meal.

However, recent M2 market survey reveals that one year after the grand introduction of O! Snack, the product is still tottering in the market place.

Speaking with M2, Omowunmi Adelaja, a major distributor of the product at the popular Oke-Arin market Lagos says: “These days, people, especially children always eat noodles as snack without cooking it. In my mind, that is the reason why some companies are now making the ready-to-eat snack. But the patronage is very low.”

On why the snack, particularly O! Snack that claims to have blazed the trail in that category, is not selling as expected, Omowunmi explains that many consumers complain that O! Snack is over spiced with seasoning and thereby makes it difficult to savour.

“Our customers complain a lot about the taste of O! Snack flavours. They say it is too salty.”

Labake Opeyemi, a mother of four disclosed to the magazine that the moment her kids were introduced to solid food, they took to all kinds of noodles. She however, said that her children have strongly turned down her O! Noodle Snack offering.

Mr. Oteri, who was contacted several times on his cell phone did not answer his calls, neither did he return the text message sent to the same number by M2.

Experts observe that every branding and marketing effort made in the Nigerian noodles market tilts towards trimming down the huge control of Indomie Noodles with some challenges coming from May & Baker, a pharmaceutical company that went into noodles production and even introduced Mimee CrunchMee snack that also claims to be the first in the market.

They also reason that food processing companies cash in on the growing appetite for instant noodles among Nigerians to unleash a hodgepodge of the product into the market without considering the local palate of consumers. Marketers and brand owners have therefore been advised to carry out adequate consumer research to ensure there is market justifications of every brand spend.