Stawi Foods and Fruits Limited is a Kenyan based milling company that specializes in the milling of cereals and dried fruits to produce nutritious, pre-cooked and fortified porridge flours for children. Eric Muthomi, the founder and CEO of Stawi Foods and Fruits Limited, started the company to support smallholder farmers and provide nutritious and affordable products to his community. Last year, Stawi Foods and Fruits Limited needed to make several strategic decisions in order to achieve company growth. The company looked to Partners in Food Solutions and their network of expert volunteers for advice.

“We realized we were at a critical point in the company’s journey and in order to continue growing we needed to address some key issues,” said Eric. “We needed to review our product range, our pricing structure, what market/channels we could add for distribution, and how we could lower our raw material sourcing costs to increase our overall return.” Eric met with a group of PFS volunteers, including Cargill Corporate Strategy Associate Victoria Rau, to develop a business plan that would help him increase the company’s revenue and continue to fulfill its mission.

One of the most important aspects of the project was gaining a better understanding of Stawi Foods and Fruits Limited’s customers. “When addressing issues such as pricing, product development or distribution methods, it’s important to let the customer lead the strategy,” said Victoria. “We therefore conducted market research and learned about the factors Kenyan consumers considered most when buying porridge flour. These learnings helped us advise Stawi Foods and Fruits Limited and position their company in a way that would tick all the boxes that the customers wanted.”

Since the project closed in May, Stawi Foods and Fruits Limited has already started to make changes. “We are improving our product formulation so it aligns with the ingredients/nutrients our customers care about. We are also rethinking our marketing strategy to make us a more competitive processor,” said Eric. “Despite the support being 100% virtual, the volunteers fully understood our business as if it was an in-person support. We are very grateful to the PFS volunteers for helping us gain a better understanding of our customers, and we can’t wait to share more about our success in the months to come!”

AJ Aumock is a food industry veteran with over 25 years of experience as a marketer. He currently leads the marketing efforts for Cargill’s Truvia, a zero-calorie, plant-based Stevia sweetener brand. Throughout his life, AJ has been an avid volunteer – working with children, building schools and packing meals – but saw PFS as an unique opportunity to use his skills and expertise to help others and develop sustainable businesses. For the past six months, AJ has been supporting PFS client Assisi Foods, a Ghana based maize milling company, with the development of packaging label designs.

Assisi Foods was established in 2017 and currently produces several varieties of maize flour blends. “Our vision is to grow our business and supply staple foods for the Ghanaian market,” said Victoria Dzigbordi Akumpule, co-founder and general manager of Assisi Foods. “PFS created the perfect platform for us to receive much-needed professional help in designing our product labels so we can reach as many food lovers as possible.” In collaboration with Minneapolis-based design agency Mackey Creative, AJ and the volunteer team developed several packaging designs that brought Assisi’s brand to life. The team was influenced by the colors of Africa when conceptualizing the design for the labels. They also incorporated a popular pattern that would be
recognized by the local community.

“My favorite part of this project was the moment we unveiled the packaging designs to Victoria for the first time,” said AJ. “Seeing her witness her vision through colors, words and images was a magic moment for us.” Through this project, Victoria and her team have learned a lot. “Working with different experts on the various areas of marketing brought up strategic areas as a brand we will continue to focus on as we move forward,” said Victoria. Assisi Foods is currently in the process of getting their brand registered with the Food and Drugs Authority and the Ghana Standards Authority. “I know the new labels will help us reach a more elite customer base and increase our market share,” said Victoria. “The outcome of the product labels really got me excited about what is next for Assisi Foods!”

PFS: Please tell us more about yourself.

GF: My name is Gloria Frauenfelder and I am a global procurement finance lead at Hershey. I was born in Kenya and lived there until I was 20 years old. When I married my husband, who is Swiss, I decided to move to Switzerland. I have lived here now for around 25 years and have two children in their early twenties.

PFS: Why did you decide to get involved with PFS?

GF: Being born and raised in Kenya, I have a deep understanding of the struggles many companies there face. It can be very difficult to find the right expertise that would help companies move forward. I got involved with PFS because I think it’s important to share the things I have learned throughout my career with companies who need the additional support. For example, I am currently on a project that is helping a client understand cost structures for their products. By sharing my knowledge in this space, I am helping them increase their capacity and hopefully it’ll lead to their future growth.

PFS: What is your favorite part about volunteering with PFS?

GF: I really like that employees with any level of expertise can have an impact on a project. We all learn from one another, tackle the project from different angles, and bring the best solution to the client through a collaborative approach.

PFS: What would you say to a colleague who may be interested in volunteering with PFS, but is hesitant to start?

GF: I encourage anyone interested in PFS to volunteer! You may think that you can’t help with a project because you’re not an “expert” but, I can assure you, the team environment at PFS really brings out the best of everyone and together you can help the client and expand your own knowledge in the process.

Located in Lusaka, Jesuit Development Farm (JDF) grows various organic vegetables like lettuce, onions, garlic and herbs such as moringa. Moringa, a plant rich in antioxidants and known for its purported medicinal properties, can be an excellent source of essential vitamins and minerals. To meet the increased demand for the plant, JDF looked to Partners in Food Solutions for help with increasing their capacity and identifying inefficiencies in their solar tunnel drying system. “In our local community, we do not always have access to experts with the experience PFS volunteers have,” said Father Tadeusz, managing director of JDF. “The support of PFS and its volunteers helps us avoid many problems.”

Will Suhring, a process engineer at Hershey with experience in developing, installing and activating new equipment and processing systems, offered to help JDF and share his knowledge in this area. “One of my favorite aspects of PFS is that it connects creative, entrepreneurial people from all across the world to collaborate on projects which are of benefit to everyone involved,” said Will. “I enjoy the creative problem solving aspect of the project due to working under different constraints than projects in my corporate role. It’s also great knowing that successful projects bring jobs, better food security, and many other benefits to the clients and their communities.”

After reviewing feedback from JDF about what they liked and didn’t like about their existing drying system, Will and the project team came up with several modifications that would improve their efficiency. “We suggested adding vents at each end of the tunnel to encourage air flow and remove moisture because it would be a meaningful improvement to their drying process and fit within their local materials and building constraints. We also suggested that they include plenty of room for handwashing stations and captive shoe storage, along with tables to hold wash basins at a comfortable height, because that would improve food safety and quality, and make the operation more comfortable and efficient for the workers.”

JDF plans to utilize the volunteer’s recommendations to improve their current solar tunnel drying system and to help construct their new dryer. “I really enjoy our interactions with PFS volunteers,” said Fr. Tadeusz. “During the process of developing a new solar tunnel model I learned more about food safety, efficient drying processes and how to better utilize the available space. I am grateful for everyone involved in this project and for their commitment and support of my efforts.”

Kris Zamora is an in-house creative at Hershey and spends his days supporting internal teams by developing content from animated advertisements to conceptualizing new product ideas. Motivated by his desire to make a greater impact, Kris joined a brand design project with Alliance for Inclusive and Nutritious Food Processing (AINFP) client Rut & Hirut that allowed him to learn new skills and give back in a meaningful way. Rut & Hirut is a women-owned dairy processing company located outside Addis Ababa that produces various products including pasteurized milk, yogurt, cheese and butter. The company was established with the goal of improving the livelihoods of farmers, and has supported hundreds of female dairy farmers over the years. “All the work that was done with this volunteer project not only benefits the business owners, but also the broader community,” Kris said. “Knowing my work made a difference for someone else’s life directly is all that I could ever ask for.”

In collaboration with PFS, TechnoServe and USAID, Kris worked on creating an effective design strategy that would allow Rut & Hirut to penetrate the bottom of the pyramid market and increase sales. “I can’t speak Amharic (the official language of Ethiopia) nor can I read or write it,” said Kris. “Working on the packaging design for this project did require a little bit of patience on my end given there was a quick learning curve.” This project not only pushed Kris outside his comfort zone, but allowed him to build upon his communication and cross-cultural competencies. “When I was working on the logo rebrand, part of the logo had a small heart shape icon in it. I had to ask myself ‘Is a heart shape universally recognizable? Does a heart shape mean something different in other cultures?’ This is something I normally do not need to consider in my day job and is something that I believe will make me a better overall designer and creative.”

Kris’ favorite part of the project was during the packaging design concept phase for Rut & Hirut’s milk products. Initially, Rut & Hirut chose the design concept that most closely reflected their current brand look. Before making any final decisions, Rut & Hirut decided to go out into the community and share the design concepts with the locals to see which designs they liked the most. “I thought this was a smart and strategic decision by Rut & Hirut to get the local community’s input on the design,” said Kris. “Ultimately, after receiving feedback from locals, Rut & Hirut decided to go with the bolder packaging design concept. This look was more aligned with what their current and future consumers wanted and brought some valuable insights into our packaging design project.” Since the project closed last year, the product in its new packaging design has entered the market. Rut & Hirut have reported that consumers are finding the improved packaging to be very attractive.

*The Alliance for Inclusive and Nutritious Food Processing (AINFP) is helping unlock the potential of the food processing sector by providing technical assistance and sector-wide training to food processors in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia. AINFP is co-funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and by Partners in Food Solutions, through private funding and in-kind contributions of employee time from its corporate partners. TechnoServe is leading project implementation on the ground.