Swiss agri-food giant Nestlé claims to base its recipes and products on nutritional data from countries, with a view to ensuring a balanced diet.
In the Ivorian subsidiary’s pavilion at the Abidjan International Agriculture and Animal Resources Exhibition (SARA), Estelle Coulibaly, Head of Department and Product Development at the group’s Research Center for Sub-Saharan Africa, presents a variety of recipes based, according to her, on nutritional qualities and consumer preferences.
The Abidjan research center is one of the group’s 22 centers worldwide. Its specialty is “cereals, and we develop recipes for sub-Saharan Africa, mainly West and East Africa, but also for the rest of the world,” she reports.
On the stalls, you can see finished corn-based products for East Africa, destined for Zimbabwe, or recipes for Nigeria, made with corn and soybeans. For the quality of inputs, the group supports local producers.
In Nigeria, in particular, she notes that meat analogues are made from soybeans for those who want to reduce meat consumption in their diet.
A product with the same texture as meat. Soybeans, when hydrated, take on the texture of meat.
“Currently, we have projects underway for West Africa and Zimbabwe, including products made from local grains: corn, millet, and sorghum used to make malt (in the Milo range),” says Estelle Coulibaly.
In addition to taste expectations, the nutritional aspect is a real challenge for the agri-food group: how to cook well to ensure a balanced diet. SARA aims to be a window for connecting with consumers and showcasing innovations.
“In product development, we make sure to source local raw materials that align with consumer preferences, but also from a sustainable development perspective,” Estelle Coulibaly explains.
Maggi Cube, a popular culinary broth in Côte d’Ivoire, is particularly fortified with iron and iodine, “local deficiencies, and therefore nutritional standards are adapted to the end consumer to fill these
gaps,” she adds.
In an interview, Mame Pane Sakho, Director of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs for the group’s Ivorian subsidiary, stated that “we want to provide pleasure, but also provide nutritional values depending on the target audience, whether it’s a child or an adult.”
A world leader in nutrition, health, and wellness, the giant agri-food group designs recipes based on market research. According to Ms. Mame Sakho, “as soon as we think about developing a product, we have nutritional parameters that we define and we develop” with regard to the nutritional parameters.
AP/Sf/fss/as/APA