Bouillon cube is one of the rare food products to be consumed daily by over 90% of the population in West Africa. In early 2019, the Gates Foundation launched a program involving industry partners, research institutes and NGOs with the aim to develop voluntary and mandatory standards for bouillon fortification focusing on key micronutrients.

As part of this program, between 2022 and 2024, we analyzed the economics of fortified bouillon cubes – and helped facilitate several public private convenings to ensure the voice of private producers of bouillon cubes was heard. In 2024, based on the data shared by the program, the Nigerian government created a new industrial standard for bouillon, which includes a provision for adding vital micronutrients on a voluntary basis.

Based on this program and other fortification efforts, Hystra published a report on “Large scale food fortification: The business case for food processors”, shedding light on the real costs of fortification for food processors as well as incentives that can help overcome those and help improve compliance rates to mandatory fortification standards.

Azita Tajaddini, Senior Program Officer at the Foundation, said: “Your professionalism, knowledge and flexibility helped clarify aspects of commercialization needed for our larger project.”

This work is part of Hystra’s collaboration with several teams from the Gates Foundation – Nutrition, Innovation Introduction, Maternal and Child Health, Water Sanitation & Hygiene, Agricultural Development – to identify and analyse innovative business models, and build and manage programs, helping design and launch new nutrition and hygiene products targeting lower-income consumers as well a refine the Foundation's role in various domains.