Entrepreneurship Zone: 23 December 2025: The challenge of building an African consumer brand abroad

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Entrepreneurship Zone: 23 December 2025: The challenge of building an African consumer brand abroad

 


 

 


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Affiong Williams, CEO of Nigeria-based dried fruit snacks producer ReelFruit

 

This article is an excerpt from our latest book ‘How we made it in Africa II: Real stories of entrepreneurs turning opportunity into profit‘

Affiong Williams, founder and CEO of Nigerian dried fruit and snacks company ReelFruit, has long viewed international markets as a major opportunity for her business. With the opening of its new factory and greater production capacity, that ambition has begun to materialise. The company has signed agreements with two distributors in Europe and a large retail group in the US, along with other export deals. In addition to its branded packaged snacks, it now also supplies unbranded bulk produce for both retail and industrial buyers abroad.

By exporting, Nigerian companies can protect themselves against the weakness of the naira, the country’s local currency. Between mid-2023 and mid-2025, the naira lost about half its value against the US dollar. “Many Nigerian companies have input costs in dollars, either directly or indirectly. So, the inflationary impact of the devaluing naira is hedged when you export and earn dollars,” she says.

With annual inflation climbing to 25% in 2023 and 33% in 2024, Nigerians’ spending power has been sharply eroded. Against this backdrop, Williams stresses the importance of targeting markets with higher disposable incomes. Even a modest foothold in a dollar-paying market, she says, can help businesses weather Nigeria’s difficult economic climate.

However, she cautions against pursuing an export strategy that relies on building a consumer brand and spending heavily on marketing in developed markets. Food companies in the US and Europe, she notes, have far larger budgets and the competition is intense. A consumer brand in America might spend 25% of its costs on marketing, while ReelFruit spends closer to 5% in Nigeria.

 

She stresses this is not about thinking small, but about recognising the realities of how the industry works abroad. Many American brands are backed by venture capital, which allows them to spend aggressively on marketing. Most of these brands eventually fail, but investors expect that. Their strategy is to back many companies, knowing only a few will succeed and deliver the returns needed to offset the losses from the unsuccessful ventures. For an African brand, competing in such an environment is extremely difficult. Following that path could mean running at a loss for two years or more, with no guarantee of success.

According to Williams, consumer trends in the US also change at a breakneck speed, making it hard for a foreign company to keep up. By the time a brand perfects its marketing, packaging, and influencer strategy, the market may already have shifted. “It is just a machine of a market that is backed by so much more money than we can raise,” she says.

ReelFruit’s current deal in the US is with a major retailer that operates more than 2,500 stores. Crucially, the retailer buys the products outright and sells them through its own channels, which means ReelFruit is not required to invest in brand building or marketing in the US.

Even e-commerce in developed markets – often assumed to have a low barrier to entry – comes with serious challenges. ReelFruit once sold into the US through its own online store and on Amazon but later pulled back to rethink its approach. On Amazon, food needs to sell quickly to avoid expiring or accumulating warehousing fees. But keeping stock moving at that speed usually requires aggressive spending on marketing.

African stores abroad could, however, be an opportunity for brands from the continent. For instance, an estimated seventeen million Nigerians live outside the country, many of them in the US. This diaspora represents a ready-made customer base. “There is no better market, or no lower-hanging fruit, than your people in another country,” Williams explains.

Because of the high costs of building a brand abroad, Williams sees greater potential in selling internationally in other ways. This includes supplying unbranded bulk goods or producing private-label products – where ReelFruit manufactures the fruit snacks but packages them under another company’s label.

This approach aligns with her grandmother’s advice: never fight a battle on several fronts. She argues that while Western companies can focus primarily on brand building, African businesses do not have that luxury. In Nigeria, manufacturers must contend with an unstable macroeconomic environment, unreliable raw material supply, shortages of skilled labour, and a complex regulatory landscape – challenges their counterparts in developed markets rarely face.

 

A wholesale strategy allows companies to concentrate on their core strength: production. “I would say it’s much better to sell bulk, get steady revenues, reduce your battles,” she notes.

ReelFruit has already felt the impact of higher US tariffs introduced under President Trump. Williams also assumes that the African Growth and Opportunity Act – which granted duty-free access to the US market for eligible sub-Saharan African countries, and expired at the end of September 2025 – will not be renewed. She acknowledges that these measures will affect her business, but notes that the additional duties are ultimately passed on to US consumers. In her view, the American market is resilient enough to absorb these price increases. And if US tariffs on major exporters such as some Asian countries and Mexico end up exceeding those on Nigeria, she adds, it could even work to her advantage.

.-Howwemadeitinafrica

 

 


 


 


 

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DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of Faith Capital (Pvt) Ltd for general information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for any securities. The information contained in this report has been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than the securities of more established companies. Neither Faith Capital nor any other member of Bulls ‘n Bears nor any other person, accepts any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this report or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. Recipients of this report shall be solely responsible for making their own independent investigation into the business, financial condition and future prospects of any companies referred to in this report. Other  Indices quoted herein are for guideline purposes only and sourced from third parties.

 


 

 


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