A healthy way to eat snacks
The snacking industry is still being impacted by the growing need for healthier meals. In fact, it’s estimated that the market for healthy snacks worldwide will grow to $32.2 billion by 2025.1. It is important to recognize, nevertheless, that contemporary customers are significantly more knowledgeable about the food they eat and are less susceptible to marketing speak.
Chika Russell, the founder of Chika Foods, told New Food that “marketing is a powerful tool.” “Take a packet of lentil crisps, for instance. Although they appear healthful, the ingredients list may only include 11% lentils.
“Some customers are growing aware of these strategies. They’re starting to realize what makes a nutritious snack, and perhaps this will continue.
Russell’s snack business respects today’s consumer by focusing on “wholesomeness,” not only in terms of the products and methods employed but also in terms of the culture and nostalgia it evokes.
Chika’s influence from Nigeria
Russell was born in Britain, but she describes herself as “fully Nigerian” because she was raised there.
She clarified, “My parents wanted me to understand my heritage and have a connection to Nigeria.”
She went on, “There’s an inherent love of food in this country.” I used to spend my time gathering pineapples, harvesting plantains, and scaling mango trees. Everything was open to your picking.
Russell remembers her gated neighborhood with fondness, the smells, the variety of street eateries. She compared it to having a restaurant right outside your door. “You may purchase all of this wonderful cuisine at any time of day by stopping by Mama Put, as we call them; the name roughly translates to “mother who prepares modest quantities for you to eat.” In my opinion, it
“Everyone in the family would have a task to complete around the house, like cooking rice or tomatoes, and then we would get together in a nearby field to build a makeshift barbeque in an old tin.”
Russell’s innate affinity for food fueled her love of cooking, which in turn inspired her to launch her own company.
“My parents told me I was going to leave Nigeria when I was six. They wanted me to go to London for my formal education, and it dawned on me that not only would I be moving away from home, but my female friends would also be denied this chance. The girls would have to labor in their mother’s Mama Put while their brothers would be the ones who studied.
Russell says, “I can’t remember if there were bad times; all I remember is the fresh food being toasted – the taste, the smell, the happiness.” Russell has pleasant memories of her time spent in Nigeria.
Motivated not just by the emotions attached to her
Russell made the decision to start a snack company to honor her background and appeal to health-conscious consumers, while also missing the “natural foods” that are consumed in Nigeria.
Tastes and branding
Russell clarified that the methods used to make the snacks are primarily responsible for the brand’s homage to its African heritage. Of course, some of Nigeria’s most well-liked flavor combinations have impacted her, but she also recognizes that the UK market has certain taste preferences.
“I can’t make a snack with fish powder for the UK market because it won’t be mainstream, even though fish powder is huge in West Africa!” She chuckled. “I must therefore combine and balance my childhood food preferences with those of the general public.”
Russell went on to say that she has no qualms about including regional flavors, such as those from Britain, in her lineup and has done so in the past. Examples of these flavors include salt and vinegar.
“In the UK, flavor and inventive, interesting pairings are highly valued. In contrast, Nigerians prefer very simple snacks. For instance, we would simply slice, bake, and season a papaya with salt and chili.
“We firmly believe in enjoying food from the soil as nature intended. Our genuineness is essentially determined by how we handle the ingredients—that is, by not overprocessing them.
Russell gave the example of the brand’s rice crisp, stating that the main ingredients are red lentils (25 percent) and brown rice (50–52 percent). Instead of being provided as flour, as some other crisps may be, these components are blended in their natural state.
Russell also applies very little processing to her nuts (she uses cashews, almonds, and peanuts). We use whole nuts, removing the husk and leaving the skin on. We cover the nuts with a mixture of salt and water and let them to air dry. Next, put the nuts into a big iron skillet, making sure to toss them often so they don’t stay in contact with the pan for an extended period of time. After that, these are chilled on racks.
While some Britons prefer to eat this, Africans eat nuts without the skin, which means that when they’re toasted, you have to peel off the “chaff.” Thus, it made natural for us to provide both alternatives to gastropubs when we opened Chika’s.
She clarified that the food stays fresh because of the modest scale of her business, which usually processes a ton of nuts at a time. “The overprocessing occurs when a company has too much inventory; the older items go rancid and require bleaching, frying, and salting to restore color and flavor without compromising safety.”
Russell went on, “We support good causes, good ethos, and good ingredients.” She clarified that this mindset also contributes to the brand’s differentiation in a crowded market. “Using merely blended lentils and flour and then adding additional starch to make it more substantial would have been far less expensive for us, but that wouldn’t be in line with our values. I refuse to compromise the integrity of our brand in order to achieve temporary success.
“Chika’s has grown much more quickly over the last two years, but it was really hard in the beginning.”
Chika’s celebrates Nigerian flavors while also working to provide education to girls in West Africa. At sixteen years old, I began sponsoring my first child. I would constantly say, “I will sponsor more children when I earn more money,” but I wanted it to be an integral part of my everyday life, independent of my income. Therefore, regardless of what happens to the business, one cent will be contributed for each bag of Chika’s purchased to support the education of girls in West Africa. We’ve assisted 500 people so far.
The snack market: present and future
Russell claimed there had been a surge in the convenience industry before the outbreak. “While there was a shift toward health and a desire for their ready-to-eat meals to be healthy, consumers were still searching for quick and simple products.”
As COVID-19 spread over the globe, the health trend gained momentum but the convenience industry suffered.
“I think there has been a lasting shift in the convenience snacking segment. Businesses went online as lockdowns were implemented, and in certain cases, this has benefited a brand. I believe that because using the internet is simpler, individuals will continue to do so even when society begins to open up again.
Russell also mentioned the growing popularity of brand integrity. She stated, “Consumers seek out companies they can trust, but they also look