Onga: Stoking Culinary Skills of Students

Kate Henshaw-Nuttal is one brand ambassador that has more than delivered on expectations. Most people who knew Kate as a Nollywood actress would never have associated her with culinary expertise. Those who know her, at least before she debuted as the face of Onga food seasoning would never have believed she was capable of inspiring such a strong influence on the sales of something that had to do with cooking.
But Kate has that smile and warmth of personality that could disarm. And she is one Nollywood actress that has not had any scandal tainting her career and marriage. So when a couple of years ago, Onga and Kate consummated a relationship that made her the face of the brand, it was this clean personality that the brand was actually looking for.

But since coming on board, Kate has delivered beyond expectations.
Slowly and with her face donning one creative advert after another, Kate is taking Onga into most kitchens in Nigeria. And from May 28 to August 20, 2011, Kate will be carrying this new wave-making seasoning to 15 university campuses in Nigeria for a cooking competition geared towards winning “future wives and mothers” over to the brand at such a critical age.

According to the company’s Manager, Food Enhancement and Beverages, Abiola Inawo, at a media briefing in the company’s corporate headquarters in Isolo, Lagos, the Onga National Campus Cooking Competition is essentially put together to celebrate the Nigerian Culture as expressed in the diversity of delicacies created by various ethnic groups in the country.

She also said it was designed to stimulate young Nigerians to prepare for a future where the consumption of healthy food will be part of them.

“Promasidor is known for innovation, creativity, nourishment and care. All these are packaged in Onga which is a seasoning that comes in powdered form to add value to the lives of women in this country. We intend this National Campus Cooking Competition to prepare young Nigerians for unity and stability in their homes, knowing that campus life is the final stage before homebuilding. That is why they are challenged to cook traditional meals of the locality of their campuses no matter which part of the country they themselves come from,” Inawo said.

Onga Cooking Competition is not new to campuses, according to Kate Henshaw-Nuttall. The brand has been staging cooking competitions at faculty, club and Hall of residence levels through invitations by student groups on campuses. But this is the first time that the competition is happening on a national scale in 15 carefully selected campuses.

“It has been a very exciting and educative experience for me. Through those competitions I have travelled to many regions of the country, eaten various delicacies and had great times with students. I have learnt a lot about Nigeria and I am thrilled at the interest that the cooking competitions have generated among students,”

To participate in the Onga National Cooking Competition, students will need to respond to a call to entry which will be collated in their faculties and halls of residence. The competition will happen in three stages. At the campus levels, Onga crew will arrive each campus to organise a two-day school storm, where different flavours of Onga will be showcased, with cooking and sampling.

The campus level competition will be preceded by a variety show, with the students having a lot of fun which will be driven by various talents among them. Prizes to be won at conclusion of this level include, a deep freezer, a four-in-one burner gas cooker and a fridge for the first, second and third winner respectively. Other consolation prizes will also be won.

 

Promasidor’s General Manger, Marketing, Kachi Onubogu, also commenting on the competition, said “Everybody who participates will win something. The initiative is bigger than a competition. It is the company’s way of driving unity. Integration is the goal. It is about celebrating culture and food. I will be excited for instance to see a Yoruba boy or girl studying in University of Calabar, coming tops in Unical by cooking the best Afang soup or an Igbo student in Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University doing the best Mia Kuka.

The grand finally of the Onga National Campus Cooking Competition will hold in Lagos after all the campus editions have been concluded.

The first, second and third winners will go home with a Kia Rio car, a six-in-one burner gas cooker and a freezer-fridge respectively.

Like most products from the stable of Promasidor Nigeria, Onga came into the market with very strong differentiation and thus is what, along with Kate’s wan smile, is taking it into most kitchens.

Recall that when this brand came into the market with Cowbell milk, it cleverly targeted the low income bracket by making its milk is small affordable sachets. Recall that within a few years, most other milk brands followed this path.

Now again in 2004, Promasidor launched Onga. In a market where food seasoning are packaged in cube form, Onga came out already crushed in an easy to use sachet.

But even then, the buying habit of most home makers was such that when they go to the market, in their heads, food seasoning is a cube. So they were not really buying Onga because for them, Onga is not a seasoning.

That was when Promasidor pumped up the volume with TVCs and location activations that included cooking competitions at NYSC Orientation camps and such places. Then again, Onga invoked its strongest differentiator. As we noted earlier, not being a cube was a major disadvantage for Onga. But that was what this brand was later to turn into a strong advantage by attacking the “cube” seasonings and emphasising the benefits of being a seasoning in a sachet.

For Onga, being in a sachet reduces exposure of cooking food to germs contacted in the everyday activity. It does seem that the public is embracing this sentiment. Whether this will also eventually lead other brands to change from cubes to sachets remains to be seen, but what is clear is that Onga has taken the innovation leadership and it does seem to be working.

With the Onga Cooking Competition targeting young undergraduates, this brand is really building long term partnerships that will properly situate it high on the family preference and budget.