What’s happening on Twitter right now is a masterclass in how the African market thinks.⁣

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An akara brand shows up with packaging, branding, structure, Lekki location… and guess what people are saying?⁣
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“We don’t want packaged akara.⁣
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We want the smoke.⁣
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We want it by the roadside.⁣
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We want the nylon wrapper.⁣
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We want it squeezed inside the bread by the woman shouting customer, hot one.”⁣
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And honestly?⁣
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That is the market.⁣
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Some people here will choose bole and groundnut by the roadside…⁣
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Over any packaged, polished, restaurant-style version you bring to them⁣
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Because the taste is in the smoke⁣
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The flavour is in the dust⁣
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The authenticity is in the woman roasting with one hand and pricing with the other.⁣
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This is where entrepreneurship becomes tricky.⁣
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The same people who preach innovation…⁣
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Are the same people who show you shege for touching what they believe should never be modernized.⁣
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Because in Africa, people don’t just buy food.⁣
They buy memory.⁣
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They buy emotion.⁣
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They buy lifestyle.⁣
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They buy vibe.⁣
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The smoke is the brand.⁣
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The wrapper is the packaging.⁣
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The chaos is the customer experience.⁣
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And here is the real lesson.⁣
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Not everything should be refined.⁣
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Not everything needs a facelift.⁣
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Some products lose their magic when you bleach them with innovation.⁣
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If you want to build for this market…⁣
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You must learn to innovate without erasing the culture.⁣
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Package it but keep the soul.⁣
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Upgrade it but don’t remove the identity.⁣
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Because the African market is funny like that.⁣
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It wants the future…⁣
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But it also wants the nostalgia that built the past.⁣
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So be prepared.⁣
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This market will clap for you….⁣
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And still humble you the same day.⁣
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A true entrepreneur learns to balance both worlds….

STAY MILKY !!!