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CHI Limited has redefined Nigeria’s FMCG’s market with its innovative products in the past decades. In this interview with Teliat Sule and Chijioke Onyeogubalu, managing director of CHI Limited, Deepanjan Roy explains how his company has maintained its leadership position in the market with innovative products that appeal to the varying needs of consumers: Excerpts:
CHI Limited is one of the most popular and enduring iconic brands in Nigeria. Can you give us a brief history of the company and how it has evolved over the years?
CHI Limited was founded over 40 years ago, specifically in 1980, with the vision of providing healthy and nourishing beverage products and snacks to Nigerian consumers. The company’s goal was hinged on leveraging local natural resources, where available, to produce high quality products while benefitting local communities through job creation for the local population.
The company launched the Capri-Sonne brand in 1981 through a franchise arrangement with the brand owners, laying the foundation for local production of a wide range of fruit juices in Nigeria. In 1997, the Company launched Chivita 100% Orange flavour in the 1L aseptic packaging. The company’s first snacks product, Beefie Sausage Roll, was also launched that year. 2005 marked a turning point in the company’s history with the launch of many of the country’s firsts. We launched Nigeria’s first long shelf life drinking yoghurt produced in aseptic packaging, Hollandia Yoghurt. Hollandia Evaporated Full Cream Milk, Nigeria’s first ever evaporated milk in aseptic packaging was launched into the market that year. Our Fruit Juice portfolio was strengthened with the launch of Chi Exotic Pineapple & Coconut Juice Nectar in 2005. Our portfolio further expanded with the introduction of Hollandia Soya Milk and Hollandia UHT Milk in 2006.
We further expanded our product range in 2007 and 2008 into pack sizes that made them affordable to the Nigerian consumers. Chivita 100% fruit juice, and new Chivita Active and Happy Hour by Chivita were introduced in the 250ml pack sizes. By 2009, our varied portfolio and rich product range positioned us as the largest Tetra Pak partner in Sub-Saharan Africa, and we became the third largest Capri-Sonne franchise in the world by 2011. Subsequent years saw our snacks product range expanding to include Chi Superbite Snack Roll, Beefie Meat Pie, and over 130 product and pack variants of Chivita fruit juices, Hollandia drinking yoghurt, and Hollandia milk products. In Feb 2016, The Coca-Cola Company acquired 40% equity stake in our Company, and by Feb 2019, CHI Limited became a wholly owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company, following full payment.
To support business growth over the years, the company pioneered heavy investments and drove innovation across categories. We have invested in state-of-the-art fruit juice and milk processing plants, high speed filling machines, fully automated warehouse and storage systems, and an extensive and pervasive distribution system that avails our products across the country. In the 40 years of our existence, we have become a lead campaigner for quality, healthy, and nourishing homegrown brands whilst driving local economic development and growth.
We are aware of your range of innovative fruit juices, dairy products and snacks. Can you let us into some of these unique products and how they address varying consumer needs?
We are committed to providing healthy, nourishing, and high quality fruit juices, value added dairy products, and snacks to Nigerian consumers. Our fruit juices are clustered under the Chivita brand name. They include Chivita 100% which is a 100% Fruit Juice made from real fruit juice concentrate with no added sugar, no artificial colours, and no preservatives. Our flagship Chivita 100% brand comes in 5 flavours of orange, apple, pineapple, red grape, and lychee. Chi Exotic Nectar is a unique mix of fruits with indulgent and exotic taste and comes in pineapple-coconut, multifruita, and mango. Produced in 2 flavours of Power of 6 and vegetable fruit nectar, Chivita Active provides the right nutrients to support an active, healthy life every day. Cool and refreshing Chivita Ice Tea is a rare and exciting blend of natural tea extracts and real fruit juice. Happy Hour by Chivita is a juice drink that comes in a variety of 3 flavours of Orange Safari, Totally Tropical and Peach Pop.
Our value added dairy brands are clustered under the Hollandia brand name. Hollandia Yoghurt is a drinking yoghurt brand that comes in 2 flavours of plain sweetened and strawberry. We recently launched Hollandia Zero Yoghurt, a Zero Lactose, Zero Added Sugar and Zero Artificial Sweeteners drinking yoghurt proposition for the discerning consumer who wants to enjoy drinking yoghurt without the calories. Hollandia Full Cream Evaporated Milk and recently launched Hollandia Slim Evaporated Milk are our evaporated milk brands which are produced in hygienic aseptic packaging, Hollandia Lactose Free Milk is Nigeria’s first ever locally produced drinking milk with no lactose, and is the natural choice for persons with lactose intolerance. And we have the full cream and low fat variants of our drinking milk brand, Hollandia UHT Milk.
Our Snacks portfolio includes Chi Superbite Snack Roll, a beef roll snack; Beefie Beef Roll, and Beefie Meat Pie.
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Quality is an important factor for business success. How do you maintain quality control in your production processes?
Our continuous investment in modern production infrastructure and paying attention to delivering high quality products has played a critical role in our success. With our ISO 22000 certified state of the art manufacturing facility, CHI Limited deploys advanced processing and packaging technology in making all its products. At CHI Limited, we take extra care to use only high quality ingredients which are sourced from all around the World. Our Chivita juices are made from fruit juice concentrate produced from fresh fruits and vegetables grown in well maintained orchards. The milk and ingredients used in our yoghurt and milk products are sourced from well-nourished cows which have been bred on fresh, healthy grass growing in hygienic pastures. These high quality ingredients and raw materials then go through a fully automated production process that restricts human interference, and are then finally packed in aseptic packaging to ensure that the quality of the products is retained.
Effective distribution is critical for product visibility and market leadership. Are there plans to expand your distribution outlets in key markets across the country?
CHI Limited currently has established footprints in urban and rural Nigeria through a large network of depot operations and a robust distribution system across the country. Our efficient distribution system comprises distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and sales representatives who work hard every day to bring our products nearer to consumers.
We are also taking steps to invest in the purchase of more vans to strengthen our already robust distribution network, thus ensuring that our products reach markets, stores, and shops in every part of the country. Today, we take pride in being one of the few Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies who export quality food and beverage products to other African countries.
CHI Limited has become synonymous with quality and market leadership but we are increasingly seeing small players particularly in the fruit juice segment competing in the market place. What is CHI Limited doing to ensure it maintains its leadership in the fruit juice, dairy and snacks segment of the market?
CHI Limited is Nigeria’s foremost fruit juice, value added dairy beverages, and snacks manufacturer, with leadership of the fruit juice and drinking yoghurt categories, and a very strong contender in the evaporated milk and snacks categories. We make continuous effort to maintain leadership positions in the respective categories in which we operate.
CHI Limited produces a range of high quality and healthy products. We ensure that our products provide the essential nutrients, minerals, and vitamins our consumers need to build their immunity, strengthen their bodies, and stay healthy. The importance of providing healthy and nutritious beverages and products is even more important now than ever before because of the need for consumers to maintain the best health condition during the pandemic.
Of course, affordability is another key focus area, and we have addressed this by providing nourishing products to our consumers at all key price points of N25, N50, N70, N100, N150, N200, etc. We have products that appeal to every socio-economic and taste preferences of Nigerians. Therefore, we are confident that Nigerian consumers will continue to make the right beverage and snacks choices.
Leading brands such as yours have strategic CSR policies. Can you let us into the focus and impact of your CSR activities?
Giving back to our community is a strategic and intentional policy of our company. The Hollandia Nurture A Child Initiative represents our commitment to support the growth and development of children who suffer from inadequate or poor nutrition. We believe that nurturing a child starts with providing them with the right nourishment. Therefore, through our initiative, we provide these children with nourishing Hollandia Yoghurt and Hollandia Evaporated Milk products which boosts their healthy growth and development, thus enabling them to thrive and grow well. Thus far, we have focused on providing children living in Internally Displaced Persons Camps, Slums, & Orphanages in multiple locations, with our nourishing Hollandia products.
Where do you see CHI Limited in the next 5 years?
We are grateful for the success we have achieved thus far. Our brands appeal to every segment of the Nigerian population and can be found on shelves in supermarkets, departmental stores, open markets, mini-shops, and kiosks all around the country.
We believe the future looks promising. We are committed to our core business model, which is providing quality and healthy beverages and snacks to Nigerian consumers. We plan to build on our current successes to create a future for continuous growth. Leveraging our current portfolio, we will continue to deliver innovative product offerings that cater to the diverse needs and taste preferences of every segment of the dynamic Nigerian population, at affordable prices that deliver value for our consumers.
