Munro Icing Sugar convened bakers and industry stakeholders at the Radisson Blu Hotel Lagos Ikeja for “Bakers Who Brunch: Rising Beyond the Oven,” a strategic gathering designed to equip baking entrepreneurs with the tools to scale in a rapidly evolving marketplace. The event marked Munro Icing Sugar’s first structured effort to strengthen its connection with Nigeria’s baking community, underscoring its commitment to product excellence and entrepreneurship across the value chain.
Nigeria’s bakery sector continues to grow, driven by urbanisation, increasing demand for premium celebration cakes, and the expansion of digital commerce. The event emphasised aligning skill development, visibility, and long-term commercial sustainability. Delivering the keynote address, Chineze Ibuoka, Chief Executive Officer of Honeysuckle Cakes, highlighted the need for bakers to transition from passion-driven work to structured enterprises. She stated: “The opportunity within Nigeria’s baking industry is significant, but growth today requires more than talent. Bakers must build systems, invest in visibility, and treat their craft as a scalable enterprise.”
A central highlight of the brunch was the panel session themed “Skill, Visibility and Winning Customers in a Digital Age,” where established baking entrepreneurs shared insights on content strategy, branding, and operational efficiency. Ike Ogechukwu, a leading cake artist and digital baking educator, noted that social media has transformed the industry by enabling bakers to create demand rather than rely on referrals. However, she emphasised that visibility must be supported by structure, pricing, and consistency.
Corroborating this, Tomiwa Sekoni, Brand Communicator, stressed that customers now purchase stories, credibility, and trust, not just cakes, highlighting the importance of strong personal branding. Joel Adu, Chief Executive Officer of Joel Adu Studios, added that consumers “eat with their eyes first,” emphasising the role of visual presentation in attracting customers. He noted that strong imagery, videos, and consistent branding are essential to capturing attention in a scroll-driven digital economy, alongside clear messaging and pricing.
The event also featured a “Pitch & Win” segment, where participants presented scalable growth strategies. This reinforced the focus on commercial thinking. Chef and baker Damien Okoye emerged as the winner of the ₦500,000 business grant. Speaking at the event, Brian Munro Limited’s General Manager, Commercial, Rilwan Shofunde, emphasised that the brand supports bakers beyond product supply: “Munro Icing Sugar believes strong brands are built alongside strong entrepreneurs.” The brand continues to position itself as a dependable partner in Nigeria’s expanding baking industry, offering high-quality products known for their consistency and performance.
Participants described the event as inspiring and commercially insightful, reinforcing the idea that success in modern baking requires a combination of skill, strategy, and strong digital presence.
