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Nestlé drives nutrition with ‘Cooking Caravans’ in Africa

Maggi 'Cooking Caravans'COOKING CARAVAN: Maggi is reaching out to thousands of women in Côte d’Ivoire

Nestlé has gone on the road in Central and West Africa to provide nutrition expertise and healthy eating tips to consumers.

Maggi brand ‘Cooking Caravans’ are travelling through Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria, educating people about balanced diets, micronutrient deficiency and the importance of culinary hygiene.

The programme also aims to encourage cooking at home.

 

Tailor made

There are five caravans on the road staffed by a team of up to ten Maggi employees and contractors.

They travel to towns and cities week-by-week promoting activities tailored to each country.

These include interactive cooking demonstrations, women’s forums, group discussions, and presentations on micronutrient fortification.

 

Trusted brand

“The Cooking Caravan is our channel to connect with our consumers face-to-face,” said Maarten Geraets, Business Executive Manager for Maggi in the Central and West Africa region.

“We hope it will reinforce the idea that Maggi is a brand they can trust.”

Maggi makes a wide range of products including bouillons and seasonings in West Africa.

Nestlé fortifies most of the range to help address the four most prominent micronutrient deficiencies worldwide: iron, vitamin A, iodine and zinc.

Over a third of people living in developing countries are affected by such deficiencies, according to recent statistics by the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

 

‘Innovative way’

“The Cooking Caravan is also helping us reach out to people to make them aware about the problems of micronutrient deficiency, which can have huge effects on health,” said Mr Geraets.

Maggi is a well-known Nestlé brand which offers Popularly Positioned Products (PPP) to people on lower incomes. These locally-adapted, affordable and nutritional products are fortified with essential nutrients and minerals.

“This programme is an innovative way to inform people about this local nutrition issue and how they can address it,” he added.

 

Engaging with consumers

The ‘Cooking Caravans’ will take to the roads in Ghana next month and are expected to be rolled out to other countries in West Africa this year.

They started in Côte d’Ivoire in October 2011.

In Cameroon, the programme has already engaged with thousands of consumers.

In Nigeria, it aims to reach over 50,000 people in 2012.

 

Related information:
Maggi
Nestlé CWAR

Read more about Maggi:
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Nestlé opens new Maggi seasoning production line in China

Read more about Nestlé in the Central and Western African region:
Nestlé opens first Shared Service Centre in Africa
Nestlé opens new CHF 87 million factory in Nigeria