Makers of Plumpy'nut® to Invest $5.8 Million in African Companies to Fight Severe Acute Malnutrition Through Local Suppliers

French food manufacturer to significantly increase its total investment since 2005 to support sustainable food production systems

MALAUNAY, France, Oct. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nutriset, the inventor and manufacturer of Plumpy'nut^® – the highly fortified peanut-based paste that revolutionized the treatment of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) – today announced the company will contribute an additional $5.8 million over the next two years to combat severe acute malnutrition in the developing world and especially in the Sahel region of Africa.

Announced during the Borlaug Dialogue in Des Moines in conjunction with the awarding of the 2012 World Food Prize, Nutriset's $5.8 million commitment will go to members of the PlumpyField^® network, a network of locally based private manufacturers in developing countries that act as franchisees to produce and distribute Plumpy'nut^® and other Nutriset products employing local labor, procuring local crops and employing sustainable production systems.  Building on the more than $10.4 million the company invested between 2005 and 2011 in capital and production equipment for members of the network, Nutriset will now infuse an additional $2.6 million in 2012 and another $3.2 million in 2013, with nearly $1.7 million designated each year for expanded production of nutritional foods for the humanitarian treatment and prevention of malnutrition in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Niger, and Tanzania – four countries where famine and food insecurity is especially acute.

"Nutriset's pledge to significantly increase our investment in our PlumpyField^® members will help them create local solutions to devastating food crises," said Nutriset CEO, Adeline Lescanne. "We hope the $5.8 million will provide our partners with the tools they need to combat current famines and help promote the nutritional autonomy of all afflicted regions of the world."

Providing new capital and resources for the 11 small local private manufacturers, two international non-governmental organizations and more than 500 locally based employees that are now a part of the PlumpyField^® network,  Nutriset has specifically designated an expanded investment in four locally-based manufacturers in the Sahel region of Africa:

• InnoFaso SA in Burkina Faso: Established in July 2011 and based in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, InnoFaso SA has been a member of the PlumpyField^® network since October 2011. As a country located in the Sahel region of Africa, Burkina Faso is frequently exposed to the malnutrition issue. According to UNICEF, 11.3% of the 2,934, 000 children under five years old living in Burkina Faso suffered from acute malnutrition in 2009, which means that more than 330,000 children are concerned by this scourge. Besides producing nutritional foods for these children, InnoFaso SA will work with a local technology park to train local engineers in water management and sustainable production systems. Production of Plumpy'nut^® and other nutritional products is now starting with a capacity of 200 tons a year.
• Hilina Enriched Foods in Ethiopia: Hilina has installed the modern machinery necessary to increase its production capacity from zero metric tons per year in 2006, when they joined the PlumpyField^® network, to 12,000 metric tons in 2012.
• Societe de Transformation Alimentaire (STA) in Niger:  Founded in 2001, STA joined the PlumpyField^® network in 2005 and is now the second largest food manufacturer in Niger, generating $10 million in 2011 in sales of Plumpy'nut^® and other nutritional products that were used to feed local children in the most vulnerable age bracket, from six months to five years old.  With more than 100 permanent employees working at its factory in Niamey, the capital of Niger, STA also employs 100-200 local women as seasonal workers and supports 1,000 to 2,000 farmers who supply more than 2,500 metric tons of peanuts grown in Niger. Through Nutriset's expanded investment in STA, the company plans to increase its local production of nutritional foods in 2013 and 2014, reaching more children in need.
• Power Foods in Tanzania: A PlumpyField^® member since 2009, Power Foods now manufacturers Plumpy'nut^® with a current production capacity of 1,000 tons and an expected capacity of 2,000 tons annually.

Through its PlumpyField^® network, Nutriset has provided a model for how corporations can support sustainable production systems in developing countries – one of the goals outlined in President Obama's Feed the Future Initiative – to reduce malnutrition and food insecurity around the globe. Offering the company's patents as a tool to promote technology transfer of innovative technologies among private companies and NGOs in developing countries, Nutriset supplies members – which operate as franchisees – with production equipment and some raw materials (vitamins and minerals), develops quality control systems, conducts training programs for local managers and provides introductions to major global buyers.  Nutriset also developed several funding mechanisms to help partners gain access to financing when needed and does not ask for any direct royalties except to be the exclusive supplier of minerals, vitamins and additives.  

To demonstrate how local manufacturers and organizations can meet the needs of its citizens quickly and effectively through the PlumpyField^® model, three members of the network will attend and participate in the World Food Prize meeting in Des Moines:  Navyn Salem, Executive Director of  the U.S. non-profit Edesia Global Nutrition Solutions, which supplies Plumpy'nut^® and other Nutriset ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs) to humanitarian organizations and USAID;  Patricia Wolff, Executive Director of the St. Louis-based Meds & Foods for Kids, which supplies severely malnourished children in Haiti with RUTF products;  and Ismael Barmou, Deputy Executive Director of Societe de Transformation Alimentaire (STA) in Niger.

Currently, the PlumpyField^® Network consists of 13 members, of which seven are local companies operating in parts of Africa. Collectively, members of the network fed 1.2 million children in 2011 and produced 35% of the total RUTF used in the field.  Nutriset-patented Plumpy^® products are sold to customers such as UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP), and Doctors Without Borders.

The following are the current members of PlumpyField^® and the dates when they joined the network:

About Nutriset
Founded in 1986, Nutriset has remained true to its original commitment: to invent, produce and make available nutritional foods for the humanitarian treatment and prevention of malnutrition in developing countries. Located in Malaunay, France, Nutriset produces a range of products that have revolutionized the treatment and prevention of malnutrition, including F-100, F-75, Plumpy'nut^®, Plumpy'doz^®  and Nutributter^{® ,}  A benchmark player in the battle against malnutrition, Nutriset is recognized for its ability to innovate, its mastery of high-quality production, and its commitment to make products accessible to all in need.         

SOURCE Nutriset