Niyya Foods & Drinks redefines Nigeria’s beverage industry
Nigeria’s economy is facing severe challenges resulting from overdependence on oil and neglect of the real sector.
This challenge has prompted governments at the federal and state levels to take diversification more seriously.
In an era of economic diversification, companies that make meaningful contributions deserve a pat on the back by both the government and the individuals.
One of such companies that are creating jobs through backward integration, and conserving the country’s foreign reserves, is Niyya Food & Drinks Company Limited (NFDCL), a subsidiary of Niyya-Farm Group Limited (NFGL), manufacturer of Farm Pride Natural Juices and Farm Pride Yoghurt.
It all started with Niyya-Farm Group Limited (NFGL), a Nigeria corporation registered in 2002, with offices located at 60 Kaduna Abuja Expressway, Kaduna, Nigeria. NFGL is an agro-industrial enterprise that owns a processing facility, dairy farm, orchards and agricultural lands.
These efforts were rewarded in 2014, when Verod Capital invested in NFGL.
The group owns one of the largest fruit farms in Kaduna, occupying approximately 3,000 hectares.
Its farms were traditionally dairy and fruit farms until 2010 when the conversion to Juice and Yoghurt began. By 2011 the farms were entirely converted to Juice and Yoghurt agro-processing. The fruit varieties grown consist mainly of orange, mango, passion, guava, and pineapple, with the capacity to grow grapes and avocado, a testament of the company’s backward integration policy, involving ‘from farm to factory’ strategy.
“We’ve installed a modern drip irrigation system that ensures precise water application to crops and minimum water use; an earth dam on the farm is our main storage for our water requirements,” says the firm, in a statement sent to Real Sector Watch.
NFGL is providing tillage services to the local farm community at subsidised rates to ensure participation/engagement in conservation activities such as gulley plugging and environmental awareness and management programs.
Farm Pride is currently re-branding the Natural Juice and Yoghurt line to strategically position premium drink products within mainstream Nigeria, as Natural Juice and Yoghurt lifestyle products, according to Rajiv Joshi, CEO of Niyya Food &Drinks.
The firm says it is committed to satisfying the expectations of its stakeholders (customers, employees, shareholders) by delivering products of consistent quality in compliance with the appropriate local and international standards.
“Consistency in providing safe, quality products to our customers remains Niyya-Farms hallmark,” adds the company.
“Our commitment to our valued customers and quality assurance are guided by our quality policy which outlines our commitment to continuous improvement and development, customer focus, quality management and food safety,” the company further says.
Farm Pride currently provides 270 direct and indirect jobs. The company aims to process newer products along with fruits and vegetables from the farm in the future to expand its range of products.
The farm has begun to set in motion, plans to export its juice drinks and yogurts to nearby countries, while the fruits and vegetables from the farm will soon be exported to European nations. In addition to exporting these products, Farm Pride also plans to begin supplying puree/concentrate of fruits to other domestic manufacturers of fruit juices that are importing it at the moment, thereby giving a big solution to the foreign reserves, says Joshi.
ODINAKA ANUDU