Profitability and market structure of ready-to-eat food vending in some selected Nigerian University communities

Abstract

This study analyzes the profitability, efficiency determinants, and market structure of ready-toeat food vending in Nigerian university communities, framed within a novel Cognitive–Cost–Structure (CCS) framework. Using cross-sectional data from 380 vendors, we applied
profitability ratios, Gini coefficients, and OLS regression to model marketing efficiency against ten operationalized control variables. Profitability varies sharply across ready-to-eat food items, ranging from groundnut at 82.83 percent to white rice at just 2.93 percent. Market concentration, measured using the Gini coefficient, is generally low across most items (Gini < 0.40), indicating competitive markets; however, moderate concentration exists for items such as assorted rice (0.51), pie (0.42), jollof rice (0.42), and white rice (0.40). Marketing efficiency is significantly enhanced by vendors' strategic pricing (β = 0.321), technology use (β = 0.284), and cost management (β = 0.188), but is reduced by input price volatility (β = -0.102) and market competition (β = -0.062). Snack vending demonstrates 0.382 units greater efficiency than staple food vending. The ready-to-eat food vending sector serves as a critical livelihood for women, who constitute 77 percent of vendors, and improving its efficiency supports household income, local food access, and economic inclusion. This research uniquely integrates product-level profitability analysis, market structure assessment, and behavioural driver identification, applying the CCS framework to demonstrate that marketing efficiency is shaped by entrepreneurial agency, not merely cost factors, thereby advancing informal sector theory.