Encourage Consumption of Whole Grains and Vegetables
Whole grains and vegetables are excellent sources of fibre, vitamins and minerals. However, diets in Central and West Africa and worldwide do not contain enough. We are helping to address this issue by increasing the whole grain content of our recipes and by encouraging our consumers to cook with more vegetables.
Our progress
In Nigeria, our Golden Morn cereal brand contains locally sourced whole grains. This includes the recently launched Golden Morn Millet and our existing Golden Morn Maize product, which contains over 50% of whole grains in each pack. Both varieties are also fortified with essential nutrients such as vitamin A and iron.
In 2016, more than 330 million Golden Morn servings were eaten by families in the country, boosting the consumption of whole grains. In the same year, we launched Milo Nutrifill in Ghana, a ready-to-eat cereal made primarily of whole grains. Made of maize, malt and cocoa, the cereal is rich in iron and a source of vitamins A, C and calcium to help boost children’s intake of vitamin and minerals.
We are also working on launching more cereal brand varieties packed with whole grains in the future.
Encouraging balanced diets
Across the region, we have led a number of Maggi activities to promote healthy and nutritious diets. Through cooking education activities, we are providing recipes, menu ideas and practical tips to help people to cook tasty and balanced meals for the entire family.
In 2015, our Maggi Cooking Caravans travelled through five countries to provide nutrition expertise, culinary hygiene and healthy eating cooking tips.
As a result, over one million women and Maggi mammies were reached through interactive cooking demonstrations, women’s forums, group discussions and presentations on micronutrient fortification.
In Nigeria, we engaged with over 15,000 women in 2015 through the Maggi home garden initiative, which was launched over five years ago as part of the Maggi Women’s Forum. The programme was held in various parts of the country in partnership with a number of women’s groups.
Women are being taught about the importance of nutrition, health and wellness through activities such as learning how to cultivate a home garden. They are also provided with a vegetable garden starter pack containing iron-rich fluted pumpkin vegetable seeds, an indigenous vegetable grown in southern Nigeria, together with an instruction leaflet. Thousands of women in 18 Nigerian states have already received these vegetable seeds.
In Senegal, Maggi is helping boost healthy cooking through three-minute presentations led by a nutritionist in the TV cooking show ‘Cuisine des Etoiles’.
In Côte d’Ivoire, Maggi is also engaging with people in the country through a TV cooking show, ‘Cordon Bleu’, with the objective of educating consumers on healthy cooking and eating through interactive sessions.
Other Nestlé brands such as Nido are also educating Africans through activities like Nido Nutrition Day and
the Nutri Academy, which is using drama to help mothers and their families understand the benefits of healthy eating habits.
Healthy Living Africa
In 2015, the ‘Healthy Living Africa’ campaign was released on our social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+, using a different theme each week to focus on practical tips to reduce salt consumption.
The campaign reached more than 11 million people via our Facebook page and Twitter feed through the use of messages, videos and hashtags such as #DidYouKnow and #HealthyLivingAfrica.
In 2016, similar campaigns on protein and fortification will be rolled out.