The next frontier for Nepali food manufacturers, retailers and importers is to ensure the availability of healthy, nutritious foods, revolutionizing the way food is presented and aiding the purchase journey of consumers
Nepal's food processing sector is an evolving industry, and there is a huge market for agro and food imports, as agricultural production yields a limited surplus. With 50% of Nepal's imports coming from India, Nepal's food consumption is greatly getting influenced by food manufacturing and retail practices in India that are currently driven by the high-value processing of various agricultural products, increased urbanization, rising disposable incomes, and the demand for convenient food. As Nepal's economy develops, its food choices are likely to evolve in the same manner while demand for preventive healthcare will become the preferred norm as opposed to curative healthcare.
What this means is that the food manufacturing and retail sector stands at the convergence of our nutritional goals. From labelling innovations to communicating nutritional values, there is a large role for the private sector to play as affordability and accessibility become crucial determinants of food choice and access, driving dietary patterns, nutrition status and overall health and environmental outcomes. While agriculture constitutes over 25% of the Nepali economy, nearly 24% of agricultural crops consist of paddy production, Nepal is thus a country of rice eaters, with carbohydrate-heavy diets. Secondly, a lack of awareness regarding balanced food and the importance of protein results in low consumption of protein in Nepal. And this underlying 'protein paradox' i.e., high importance vis-à-vis low understanding could be where manufacturers and retailers can step up in making Nepal consume adequate protein.
Along with supporting measures for improving back-of-Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) package (BOP) nutrient information to labels complying with Codex standards, the internationally accepted code in the food business, the industry needs to innovate or proactively support and voluntarily adopt means to communicate nutrition to help influence food choices. For instance, the voluntary Soy Fed Product label has been launched in Nepal in 2022 as a unique feed label for high-quality animal protein products.
How can the industry help with initiatives like #ProteinDay:
Issuing press releases, briefings, and commentaries
Disseminating reports, studies, and publications
Making written or oral submissions to parliamentary committees and inquiries
Working with the media
Holding public meetings and events
Convening conferences and workshops
Creating and contributing to educational materials
Disseminating nutritional communication through a range of different means or tools such as radio, television, video, film, internet, social media, newspapers, newsletters, leaflets, poster campaigns and the arts. Also, including visual tools such as stickers, logos, t-shirts, and banners
The Poultry industry can take adopt the unique Soy Fed Product Label and use the opportunities to talk about how their animal feed consists of high-quality protein
As we all know nutritional access is only part of the overall nutrition story. To ensure improved nutritional outcomes, consumer awareness about the adverse health impacts of imbalanced nutritional practices is critical. A low proportion of protein-rich foods such as soy, milk, meat, eggs, and legumes in the daily diet has resulted in malnutrition of millions of Nepalese including the problem of stunting in nearly 40% of kids below 5 years of age. Therefore, the industry has a major role to play in communicating nutrition recommendations to the consumer. Improved awareness can help in several ways, including – addressing regional pockets with high micronutrient deficiencies, enabling consumer avoidance of identified quality and safety issues with foods, enabling better decision-making in food choices for daily energy, protein, and fat intake, and driving market demand for new products, which enables wider choices, better quality products, and creation of new food segments.
Nepal's food manufacturers and retailers also need to balance consumer demand for affordable and convenient food with the need to promote healthier dietary choices. This requires a delicate balancing act, as many consumers may not be willing or able to pay a premium for healthier options, especially in a country where food insecurity is a significant challenge. At the same time, however, there is growing recognition that a lack of access to adequate protein is a major contributor to malnutrition and poor health outcomes.
Ultimately, the success of Nepal's food industry will depend on its ability to adapt to changing consumer needs and preferences while also promoting better health outcomes for all. By working together to raise awareness about the importance of protein and to develop new products and marketing strategies that meet the needs of consumers, food manufacturers and retailers can help to build a more sustainable and resilient food system for Nepal's future.
In other words, the next frontier for Nepali food manufacturers, retailers and importers is to ensure availability of healthy, nutritious foods, revolutionizing the way food is presented and aiding the purchase journey of consumers.
As the President of the Nepal Feed Industries Association and a staunch supporter of the Right to Protein initiative, I urge the industry to join forces and work together towards this common goal of nutritional awareness for nutrition security, starting with the most crucial macronutrient – 'Protein'. From enhancing protein communication on products to dedicated efforts on #ProteinDay to support public awareness initiatives, the food industry has a larger, proactive role to play in enabling our country to fight disguised nutrition poverty and making it nutrition secure.
Rabin Puri is the President of the Nepal Feed Industries Association and a supporter of the 'Right to Protein' initiative.
