Flour- Making Parties Happen

WHEN YOUR business is helping people to have fun, every change of the seasons means a new opportunity. For the sugar-craft artist and the baker, Christmas and New Year is the time of the year for weddings, parties and all sorts of fun occasions.

The flour user goes into the silly season with a lot of enthusiasm following a massive hit with the Christmas and New Year celebrations. To her, it is always celebration time.

With all the excitement this festive season has brought to many, Market Watch (MW) was enthused with what it witnessed during and after the Christmas and New Year festivities when it went on a window-shopping trip with its cherished readers to Nsawam-Adoagyiri, the historic home of bread baking, to ascertain how the market fared during and after the festive period.

President of the Adoagyiri Bread Bakers' Association, Mrs. Beatrice Amoako could not hide her joy when she was offered the opportunity to educate MW on the current situation of the business.

According to her, the celebration presents all sorts of opportunities for an imaginative retailer, but you have to be a bit sensitive about it because this season also came along with its own challenges.

“For about a year now, there has been some kind of fluctuation in the prices of flour, making the business unattractive.”
MW: How much is the price of a bag of flour?

BA: There are about four types of flour, Takoradi Flour, Sankofa, Irani Flour (Cross) and the Golden Spoon. When it comes to the prices, it depends on the texture of the flour. We have soft and hard.

The soft one is used for making the different types of sugar-craft, also known as cake. But the hard flour is mostly used for baking bread and pastries. The price ranges between GH¢38.50 and GH¢41.50, and GH¢13.50 and GH¢28 for the soft and hard flours respectively.

MW: I guess it takes more than flour to prepare all these splendid and delicious products?

BA: Sure. Without margarine, sugar, baking powder, icing and other ingredients we cannot come out with any delicious flour product. But the fact is that all these ingredients are also expensive. You know, it takes money to prepare anything from flour.

Whilst a bag of sugar is being sold at GH¢25, 10kg of margarine is at GH¢14 and above, making the production cost more expensive as compared to lesser profits we make.

Bread-baking is no more as lucrative as it used to be. Due to the increasing prices of flour and other ingredients by the companies which produce such products, most bakers are now indebted to their creditors.

Even though the profits we accrue from bread-baking is our source of income for the upkeep of our families and the provision of their future security, it also serves as our pension scheme hence, the need for the government to ensure that we are not driven out of employment.

MW: So how much do you sell your finished products after going through all that hell?

BA: We are not as fortunate as our fellow sisters who live in the big cities where bread is a major diet. The price range which is between 1Gp and 12Gp is the same everywhere.

MW: With all the excitement the X'mas and New Year festivities brought to us what are your hopes for the future. I mean now that all the excitement is over?

BA: Bread sales have never been encouraging during these festivities, more so now that the sizes of bread are smaller than they used to be a year ago.

But we still have hope that things would go well and pray that the Almighty God gives the government insight to help reduce prices of goods which affects the livelihood of the ordinary Ghanaian.

Although bread is regarded as the best patronized flour product enjoyed by every Tom, Dick and Harry across the borders of the country, supplementary flour products such as cake, tart, doughnut and other pastries made out of flour never leave the site of party makers.

In view of this MW did not hesitate to inquire about how these products were also faring when it chanced upon the brain behind Icecraft Cake Deco & Catering Insititute at Dansoman, Mrs. Beatrice Otu.

To Mrs. Beatrice Otu, a sugar-craft expert, the flour business even after the Christmas and New Year festivities would be lucrative since individual and company parties would be a continuous occurrence.

BO: Perhaps surprisingly, funerals have also proven to be good business. “A lot of people today regard a funeral as a celebration of a person's life.”

With the excitement of the holidays over, we look up to such events that would help us as specialists in creating fun which seeks to provide many opportunities to enable us offer new things for the market.

MW: We learnt during the Christmas and New Year holidays you people increased the prices of your products, how true is that. And how is it going to affect your prices this year?

BO: Yes, prices shot up. Whilst a pound of Marble, Mendria, Birthday or Plain cakes was selling at GH¢10, Fruit and Chocolate cakes were at GH¢12.

Notwithstanding the increase in flour price, a single Spring Roll, Samosa, Doughnut, Pie Biscuit and an American tin of chips were being sold at 15Gp, 25Gp, 8Gp respectively.

MW: Would these prices interpret your new prices for this year? And what is the way forward for your industry?

BO: Sure. Till the producers of flour reduce their prices we cannot do anything about it. 'To me, as a sugar-craft expert, not increasing my prices would help me create a profile for my business.

That's the sort of 'make it happen attitude' I pray my fellow brothers and sisters in the hospitality industry look for in their business as we all contribute to national development.

Our duty is to offer a huge variety of everything one could want for an event, whether it be a children's birthday party, 'hen' party, engagement, corporate function, anniversary or even divorce celebration.

The areas we need to concentrate on to make the work more inviting should include helium-filled airwalker balloons, singing balloons, themed tableware, banners, confetti, decorations, candles, icing images and costume accessories.

And as hospitality experts we need to be active to get out there and sell our service for company functions, school balls, weddings and whatever. It's hard work but it's a great business.

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