UNILEVER has re-launched the Royco Usavi Mix product this time with no preservatives for a 100% naturally made product, as it seeks a double-digit growth in the spice sector.
BY TATIRA ZWINOIRA
The company ditched preservatives in favour of naturally drying the ingredients contained in the product, in the hope of providing more natural flavour.
Speaking to journalists at the re-launch of the product last week in Harare, Unilever Zimbabwe managing director Hilary Muzondiwa said reintroducing the brand as a naturally dried product was in line with the company’s goal to improve the health of 1 billion people by 2020.
“Royco Usavi Mix is a very popular product in Zimbabwe to enhance the flavour and colour of gravy and so on. The major changes we have made are that we are no longer using preservatives and the second one is that we are using real ingredients, which are sun dried. What sun drying does is that it locks the naturalness within that product. So you will find that the new Royco product will taste better,” Muzondiwa said.
“The brand has been doing very well, which has been drawing year-on-year growth. We want to be available in so many stores across the country. This has been a project in the pipeline for a while and a lot has gone into research and development. As a target, we target to get double digit growth on the brand in the environment that we are in now.”
He said that Unilever was unable to give actual numbers as they had other investments in the pipeline which Unilever did not want to pre-empt to their competitors.
The new Royco Usavi Mix also comes in new packaging that displays the ingredients contained in the product.
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Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries president Busisa Moyo said Unilever’s launch of its new product came at a time when there was a need to resuscitate local production.
“Unilever has really taken a step or a vote of confidence in the consumer in spite of the environment. We all realise that consumers are at the centre of our ecosystems’ manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers,” Moyo said.
“Not supporting locally-manufactured products is breaking this symbiotic relationship. I am glad we have all woken up to the fact that we must support our own local means of production to help each other to improve quality and prices.”
