LIONESS WEEKENDER COVER STORY
Eat smart Foods and Start Right Nutrition Ltd, a food business putting baby and children’s nutrition first
Vera Osei-Bonsu is the founder and CEO of Eat Smart Foods and Start Right Nutrition in Ghana. Back in 2012, she was looking for a vibrant local business that made nutritious local food products for babies that are naturally fortified. Seeing the lack of healthier local baby food options in the area, she saw an opportunity. Start Right Nutrition was created in 2012 to advocate for healthy balanced foods for children from the ages of 6 months to 5 years and Eat Smart Foods was created in 2021 with the goal of bringing and manufacturing naturally fortified local baby food options. Currently, the business has over five products selling across the retailing sectors in Ghana, and has created jobs for 10 employees.Vera was awarded as the Emerging Star in Agribusiness in Africa in 2022, and the International Business Award in Africa in 2022 by Women in Agribusiness and Guzakuza.
Lioness Weekender chatted to Vera Osei-Bonsu to learn about her passion for her business, and her ambitions for the brand and product range in the future.
What does your company do?
Eat Smart Foods and Start Right Nutrition Ltd. was created in 2012 and 2020, as a profit-making nutrition-oriented organization with the goal of creating naturally fortified local baby food options. At Eat Smart Foods we make all-natural baby cereal powders which require cooking within 5 minutes. Using 100% local ingredients, we provide children from the ages of 6 months to 5 years with essential portions of proteins, fats, carbohydrates and energy they need daily to prevent malnutrition and hidden hunger. We believe that every child deserves to Eat Smart. Our Mission is to empower caregivers, especially women, to come up with nutritious food recipes from available local food products (Eat Smart Foods) to nourish their children.
What inspired you to start your company?
Back in 2012, I was looking for a vibrant local business that made nutritious local food products for babies that is naturally fortified. Seeing the lack of healthier local baby food options in the area, I saw an opportunity. Eat Smart Foods and Start Right Nutrition was created, as a profit-making nutrition-oriented organization with the goal of bringing naturally fortified local baby food options.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
Our business is built on advocacy as well as manufacturing. Through our advocacy programs we have been able to get our customers to a point of becoming an integral part of our brand. These customers have become the pivotal focus of our growth over the years as they refer us to other potential customers. At Eat Smart Foods, our uniquely combined all natural cereal powders from local food ingredients without any additives and preservatives is also a unique trait that sets us apart. We also have eco-friendly, catchy packaging for our products that makes them attractive and innovative. We also have beautiful and catchy video recipes on our products which we share on our various social media platforms with our customers to assist them come up with various recipes and options to assist them at the comfort of their homes.
Tell us a little about your team
At Eat Smart Foods we have a dynamic team of 10 with 3 key managers who help to accelerate the affairs of the organization. Our team members have a strong spirit of coordination to meet our targeted goals. We have a greater percentage of women making up the team. Our team focuses on goals and results. Everyone contributes their fair share and they offer each other support.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
Back in 2012, I was looking for a vibrant local business, that made nutritious Local food products for babies, that are naturally fortified to nourish my baby after her 6 months exclusive breastfeeding. Seeing the lack of healthier, local baby food options in the area, I saw an opportunity to fill the gap to a degree. Start Right Nutrition Limited and Eat Smart Foods were then created 2018 and 2021 respectively with the goal of bringing naturally fortified local baby food options to the doorsteps of caregivers, especially mothers. I chose agribusiness because in my bid to help fill the gap of limited local baby food products in Ghana, I noticed in my research that child malnutrition was also quite high in Ghana and almost all parts of Africa. These factors were quite interesting to me because Africa is one continent which has been tagged as rich in natural resources, especially when it comes to arable lands and the cultivation of nutrient dense agro products. I then decided to look for nutrient dense agro products in Ghana to which value can be added to nourish children to ensure they meet a daily portion of their nutritional needs.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
In the next year or two, we are striving to see our products on the shelves on most supermarkets in Ghana. We are also looking at producing smaller, single sachets of fortified baby food products in the next two years with the aim of improving food safety and preventing hidden hunger in at least 150,000 children in Ghana and across sub-Saharan Africa.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
Waking up every day with the aim to empower a mother somewhere to feed her child right with balanced foods has always been my source of motivation. So far through our advocacy programs we have been able to empower over 50,000 caregivers to feed their children correctly. This has driven us to achieve various awards and recognitions both in and outside of Ghana. This impact and fulfillment of contributing my quota to eradicating malnutrition and reducing hidden hunger on my continent is a great satisfaction.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
Don’t give up, make your vision clear, and get experts to assist you along the way.
Look for learning opportunities and resources to help build your businesses, both in structure and financially.
To learn more about East Smart Foods and Start Right Nutrition Ltd, contact Vera Osei-Bonsu via email: veeose@gmail.com or go to the website and social media platforms:
