ChopBox — Small Chops & Event Catering in Nigeria

Business Plan

Financial Snapshot

Executive Summary

ChopBox is a Lagos-based small-chops and event catering business serving birthday parties, weddings, offices, and churches through direct orders placed on Instagram and WhatsApp. Founded in 2025 by a catering-skilled graduate operating from a home kitchen, ChopBox targets Nigeria's growing private-event economy — a market where demand for quality, affordable finger foods has outpaced reliable supply.

The opportunity is clear: Nigerian households spend an estimated ₦50,000–₦800,000 on food at social events, yet most local caterers deliver inconsistency, late logistics, and poor presentation. ChopBox solves this with a standardised menu of small chops, grazing boxes, and party packs, ordered via social media with transparent pricing, confirmed deposits, and guaranteed delivery windows.

Year 1 targets: • ~120 events served (weekends concentrated March–December) • ₦9.6 million gross revenue • ~42% gross margin after ingredients and packaging • Break-even by Month 5

Year 3 targets: • ~480 events/year, expanded to corporate and church contracts • ₦38 million revenue • A lean team of 4–6, with a commissioned cloud kitchen space

ChopBox requires an initial capital injection of ₦1.5 million to fund equipment, branded packaging, a starter ingredient float, and three months of digital marketing. The founder contributes ₦400,000 in equipment-in-kind and sweat equity.

> Core thesis: In Nigeria's weekend-heavy social calendar, whoever can deliver consistently beautiful, hot, on-time small chops owns the referral network. ChopBox is built around that single promise.

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Company Description

ChopBox is registered (or to be registered) as a business name under Nigeria's Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in 2025. The business operates initially from a certified home kitchen in Lagos, with the ambition to lease a shared/cloud kitchen space by Year 2.

Legal structure: Sole proprietorship at launch, transitioning to a Limited Liability Company (Ltd) by Year 2 to support contracts, investor relationships, and payroll.

Core offering: Small chops platters, finger foods, grazing boxes, and full event catering packages — all orderable via WhatsApp and Instagram DMs. Menus are pre-designed for specific event types (birthday mini-packs, wedding finger buffets, office lunch platters, church thanksgiving trays).

Mission: To make every Nigerian celebration feel handled — from the first DM to the last chin-chin.

Vision: To become the most-referred small-chops brand in Lagos within three years, and expand to Abuja and Port Harcourt by Year 4.

Values: • Consistency — same quality every event, every weekend • Transparency — fixed public pricing, no last-minute surprises • Presentation — food that photographs well and tastes better • Reliability — if we confirm a booking, we show up

Location advantage: Lagos hosts Nigeria's densest concentration of private social events. Estimates suggest Lagos alone sees 50,000+ ticketed/non-ticketed events monthly, with small chops appearing at the overwhelming majority. ChopBox is positioned where supply is weakest: the ₦30,000–₦200,000 mid-market order range — too small for large caterers, too quality-conscious for roadside vendors.

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Problem & Customer

The Problem

Nigerian event hosts face a consistent pain when ordering small chops: Unreliable caterers — late delivery, wrong quantities, no-shows on the day Opaque pricing — quotes change after deposits are paid Poor presentation — food arrives in nondescript trays, photographed poorly by guests Minimum order barriers — established caterers won't take orders under ₦150,000 No digital paper trail — bookings made by phone with no written confirmation

These problems are not niche. They dominate event-planning conversations on Nigerian Twitter/X, Facebook event groups, and WhatsApp community boards weekly.

The Customer

ChopBox serves three primary customer segments:

| Segment | Profile | Avg. Order Val