Nutriset
BCTA MEMBERSHIP STATUS
Alumni
SECTOR
Agriculture, Food & Beverage
HEADQUARTERS
France
REGION OF INITIATIVE
Africa, Asia & Pacific, Latin America & Caribbean
SDG CONTRIBUTION
RELATED NEWS
Nutriset, the world leader in research and manufacturing of products for the prevention and treatment of malnutrition, has joined the Business Call to Action (BctA) with a commitment to reach 79 million malnourished children by 2026. To achieve this, it will empower local partners in its PlumpyField® network to procure 6,900 tons of raw materials for nutrition products each year.
Child malnutrition affects 195 million children and kills almost 3 million under 5 each year. The international community has been battling acute malnutrition for decades, but critical needs persist, even as developing economies are seeing rapid growth. Ready-to-use nutritional foods and supplements have enabled humanitarian actors to scale up home-based and medically supervised treatment instead of treating malnourished children in hospital.
For over thirty years, family-owned Nutriset has pioneered research and development of specialized products for the treatment and prevention of malnutrition, including the renowned ready-to-use therapeutic food Plumpy’Nut® which revolutionized the treatment of severe acute malnutrition of children. In line with SDG 2: End hunger, Nutriset is scaling up its impact by engaging local small businesses around the world to strengthen local economies while producing foods that match cultural tastes.
In 2005, Nutriset launched the inclusive PlumpyField® initiative to transfer its knowledge and technology to local producers of its nutrition products. Within ten years, PlumpyField® developed into a franchise-like network that includes partners in Haiti, Burkina Faso, Niger, Sudan, Madagascar, Ethiopia, India and the United States, with founding member Nutriset as the coordinating partner.
Now producing nutrition products within several countries affected by malnutrition, the PlumpyField® network offers localized, sustainable solutions to malnutrition that build food value chains and drive economic development – tackling the underlying causes of malnutrition and establishing a foundation for sustainable food security in these countries.
PlumpyField® members receive regular training to ensure that the local manufacturing of Nutriset products follows high quality standards and optimum industrial processes. In addition to working with producers of peanuts, a major ingredient in Nutriset products, the network is also integrating other raw materials such as chickpeas, rice and lentils to offer alternative recipes for diverse food cultures. With increasing urbanization in developing countries, the company is focusing on solutions that maintain traditional diets while meeting the needs of city dwellers.
The PlumpyField® network acts as a catalyst for a range of stakeholders, from farmers to manufacturers, policy makers and beneficiaries. By transferring proven technology and know-how to the local level, the network empowers independent producers and contributes to building autonomous food value chains that can meet their countries’ nutrition needs into the future. In order to scale up the model, PlumpyField® will expand these supply chains and partnerships to benefit from local knowledge and promote nutritional autonomy for all.
Top photo: Mark Naftalin/UNDP