Nestlé in Central and West Africa says it would continue to adapt its popular bouillons and seasonings brand, Maggi, to build on existing local culinary tastes and help fill nutritional gaps among African consumers.

Maggi products are tailored to regional tastes and include savoury ingredients, such as herbs and spices, to encourage Africans to use them when cooking at home and to season traditional dishes.

A statement from Nestlé said the brands include hard bouillons, powder bouillons and liquids, which come in a variety of flavours such as Maggi Chicken, Maggi Shrimp, Maggi Nokoss, Maggi Safsafal, Maggi Tomatoes-Spices, and Maggi Mix’Py Ginger and Garlic.

It said Soya beans are another popular ingredient in African kitchens as they are affordable and a good source of protein in comparison to meat, poultry and eggs. The bean curd is usually fried and eaten as a snack or at breakfast.

The statement said in the 1990s, Nestlé carried out trials to include soya beans as an ingredient in some of its products and found that fermented soya beans are similar to a West African traditional ingredient known as ‘oumbara’ in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Burkina Faso, ‘netetou’ in Senegal or ‘dawadawa’ in Nigeria and Ghana.

It said dawadawa gives a fermented, meaty and mushroom-like taste to dishes and is a popular local seasoning across Nigeria.

The statement said in meeting local tastes and traditions, Nestlé is promoting the use of such local ingredients, which supports the local economy.

It said today the company locally sources soya beans from farmers in Nigeria, the largest producing country of the crop in sub-Saharan Africa.

The statement said Nestlé processes, ferments and roasts the soya beans before the powdered natural soya is used as an ingredient in Maggi cubes to provide Nigerian consumers with the well-liked fermented and meaty flavours.

It said in Côte d’Ivoire, the company locally sources cassava to replace corn starch in the Maggi bouillons.