Hardship: Low Patronage Forces Indomie Price Slash Amid Rising Inflation

The poor demand and sales from financially stressed Nigerian consumers have resulted in a price reduction for Dufil Prima Foods Limited’s Indomie Instant Noodles brand.

According to a MATRIX survey conducted in a few Lagos-based businesses, the cost of 70g of Indomie Regular Chicken noodles decreased from N300 to N250 last month. While the price of the 40-pack carton of Indomie dropped from N12,000 to N10,000.

Prior to its price reduction, Indomie’s cost was greater than that of competing brands, such as Mimee (N200) and Honeywell (N250).

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“The price decline is not because of the reduction in the cost of sourcing dollars but because of low patronage. The brand experienced a significant drop in sales due to high pricing because they had been steadily increasing prices,” said a retail expert who declined to be identified.

He said it reached a point where people especially a large segment of those buying Indomie could no longer afford the price. “So, people started going for other brands. And soon the other brands may reduce their price because Indomie is the price setter in the noodles market.”

Over the past nine months, the inflation rate in Africa’s biggest economy has accelerated to the highest largely on the back of the federal government reforms including the removal of petrol subsidy and naira devaluation.

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose for the 14th consecutive time in February to 31.70 percent from 29.90 percent in the previous month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.