Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Performance of Selected Bakeries in Abuja, Nigeria

The food industry's role in developing any economy cannot be over-emphasized due to the significant investment of disposable income into the sector. However, the sudden emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic attracted global attention and significantly disrupted many countries' economic sectors. The study determined the production pattern of the Bakeries in Abuja and further assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Bakery performance in Abuja. The study covers only staff selected from twenty (20) bakeries in Abuja using a multistage sampling technique. The first stage involved the selection of twenty (20) bakeries extracted from the listing of master baker’s association of Abuja using a purposive sampling technique. The second stage is the selection of ten (10) staff from each selected bakery in the study area using a simple random sampling technique, thus, making a total of 200 respondents to participate in the study. Data were obtained using a set of questionnaires along with interviews. Secondary data were sourced from the internet, libraries, Journals and reports. Data obtained were analysed using frequency counts, percentages, mean ratings, and Analysis of variance (ANOVA). The study revealed that Bakeries made nine (9) distinct aggregate products in Abuja. These comprise a combination of butter-filled Bread, Chocolate Bread, Wheat Bread, and Low-fat Bread.  These products were indicated to be produced always by the bakeries. Finally, the analysis showed that there is a statistically significant (P<0.05) difference in the variation between the mean rating of Increase in sales volume (2.82), Increase in customer satisfaction (3.38), Increase in customer loyalty (3.49) and Customer buying decision (3.45). The study further shows that there is a statistically significant (P<0.05) difference in the variation between the mean rating of the Bread distribution (2.98). The study concludes that the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown significantly impacted the performance of bakeries in Abuja and recommends that the adopted quality of products be sustained to enhance this performance.