The love Nigerians have for alcoholic and non-alcoholic bitters increased since 2020. This can said to be as a result of the level of marketing, the concept, and cheap pricing of these bitters. In this post, we’ll be examining the economy of alcoholic and non-alcoholic bitters in Nigeria: introduction, and list of popular alcoholic and non-alcoholic bitters in Nigeria.
The Economy of Alcoholic and Non-alcoholic Bitters in Nigeria: Introduction, and List of Popular Alcoholic and Non-alcoholic Bitters in Nigeria
We’ll be starting with the introduction to this important topic.
Introduction to Alcoholic and Non-alcoholic Bitters in Nigeria
Nigerians right from the ancient times are used to bitter herbs and beverages evident in the traditional medicines and drinks of the country. One of the most important crops or fruits in Nigeria, often offered to guest, are kolanuts and bitter kola. Another important bitter crops eaten by Nigerians are bitter leaf and utazi. Thus, the issue of bitters cannot be said to be a modern day issue. It has been with Nigerians for a long time now.
However, aside from Guiness that had capitalized on these Nigerians’ love for bitter fruits and beverages, few mainstream beer company produced similar bitter beverages. Beer weren’t as bitter as the set of ones produced by the traditional industry of Nigeria.
Since there were little or no mainstream opportunities for Nigeria to get their bitter beverages, they depended on non-structural and formalized small-scale businesses producing their equivalents in very small quantities and level. How’s, they still weren’t as bitter and alcoholic as what Nigerian wanted.
It was in the 2000s that some products produced in a large scale surfaced in Nigeria and gained ground. They took Nigeria by storm and gained wide popularity among users. These bitters, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, were preferred by mostly low earning Nigerians for their cheapness, high intensity, effectiveness, aphrodisiac tendencies, and virality.
These bitters became a very viable option to beers. They had the advantage of being medicinal, more effective, and having high alcoholic tendencies. You can imagine buying a medicine and alcohol at the same time.
Finally, some higher earners in Nigeria also began to subscribe to bitters due to the high cost of beer, the medicinal value of bitters, and how it doesn’t bloat the body. Therefore, it is safe to say that alcholic bitters are very serious threats to the mainstream beer industry.
List of Alcoholic and Non-alcoholic Bitters in Nigeria
There are just so many alcoholic and non-alcoholic bitters in Nigeria that we cannot list all of them here. So, we are simply going to list a handful of few here.
1. Action Bitters
2. Alomo Bitters
3. Odogwu Bitters
4. Knock Off Bitters
5. Yoyo Bitters
6. Ballamour Bitters
7. Igboya Bitters
8. Ruzu Herbal Bitters
9. Rida Bitters
10. Baby Oku Bitters
11. Jekomo Bitters
12. Striker Bitters
13. Koboko Bitters
14. Goko Herbal Bitters
15. Erujeje Bitters
16. Orijin Bitters (owned by Guiness and more like Beer)
17. Kerewa Bitters
18. Osomo Bitters
19. Zazzu Bitters
20. Otizzeh Bitters
Now, let’s take a look at the cheap prices of these bitters.
What is the Price of Bitters in Nigeria?
These bitters come in cheap and cheaper forms of packaging and presentation. You can get most of these in sachets form at the rate of 100 naira to 200 naira. The small sized bottle can go for around 200 naira to 400 naira depending on the product. The medium-sized bottle of these products can go for 400 naira to 900 naira.
Due to the type of marketing and packaging utilized by these people, they don’t do much of the big bottles. However, the ones that do in big bottles keep the price at the rate of 1500 naira to 2500 naira.
Conclusion
This is it on the economy of alcoholic and non-alcoholic bitters in Nigeria: introduction, and list of popular alcoholic and non-alcoholic bitters in Nigeria. This is just an episode in the series of posts we’re about to make on bitters in Nigeria. When we are done with all the episodes, you should know all about the economy of these drinks in Nigeria.