Our Vision

To be the leading player in Fast Moving Consumer Goods in terms of market

standing, market share and profitability in our region of operation.

Our Mission

Committed to providing an environment that allows a team of motivated and

highly valued professionals to excel in their areas of competency and interest.
Committed to providing product offerings that have the highest salience, define
the quality standards, and have strong Value for Money proposition in the category
they exist in.
Committed to providing an optimal distribution structure that allows for a high
degree of market and outlet coverage and ensures that our products are readily
available in every market within the region.

Welcome to Watanmal, a leading FMCG group in West and Central Africa. The company
that is over 100 years old, first started as a general merchandise trading company
at the turn of the 20th century and is today one of the pre-eminent branded
packaged foods businesses in these markets.

Adapting to the changing times, Watanmal has constantly moved up the value chain
and is now present in 24 countries in West and Central Africa. With a vision of
being the market leader in the FMCG segment, the company concentrates on Sales and
Distribution Management, Brand Building, Market Dynamics and Consumer Knowledge and
considers these the pillars of its future growth.

The company has been enhancing the lives of its consumers providing products of the
highest quality with a strong value for money proposition.

Today, Watanmal has dominant shares in many of the markets it operates in, selling
7,000,000+ products per day.

With a power packed portfolio of proprietary brands under its wing, and a potential
consumer reach of a staggering 530 million, the company has dominated in the
categories in which it has focused.

Watanmal is the No.1 Tomato Paste seller in Africa and also has the No.1 American
Mayonnaise brand in West and Central Africa.

The company, with a turnover of US$ 500 Million, continues to spread its wings and
grow everyday while enhancing lives with its every step.

The Watanmal Group has always dreamt of a better tomorrow for itself, for its
employees and for its consumers. Success has not in anyway changed the values of
the organisation. Humility, reliability and trustworthiness have always been the
driving factors behind the growth of Watanmal.

The organisation is a pioneer in marketing and distribution in West and Central

Africa. With a robust presence across 24 countries, the group ensures that every
product of theirs is accessible and affordable to consumers. Care is taken to see
that superior quality products are delivered and also that in blind tests across
product categories, consumers consistently rate Watanmal brands at par or higher
than competition.

At a time when most companies hesitated to take risks and were averse to venture
into the African subcontinent, the group went ahead and launched a slew of brands
in various categories like Culinary Division, Breakfast division, Animal Proteins,
Beverages & Confectionary, Spices and Seasoning and Branded Commodities like Rice
and Oil. With a professionally managed team with a risk taking appetite and the
entrepreneurial spirit that is the core of its management philosophy, today the
group has reputed brands like Gino, Pomo, Jago, Palmo and Forte in its stable.

Category:Industry | Date:2008-05-01
SOSACO enlighten consumers on new products

AS part of its social responsibility, SOSACO Nigeria Limited (SNL) recently

embarked on a week long provision of Jago active malted food drink, the latest
product from its stable, to children in public and private schools in Lagos State.
The children were also enlightened on good nutrition habits rather than spending
their money on junk food.

The sampling covered 120 schools, and in each of the schools 500 students benefited
from the initiative. And come May 27, no fewer than 240 children (two each )drawn
from the various affected schools will attend a fun-filled children's party with
Jago.

Reacting to the programme, the Principal, Ajuwon High School, Akute, Lagos, Mrs.
Aladeojobi, stated : "I want to appreciate Sosaco Nigeria Limited, makers of Jago
products because you are giving the children milk. You are helping them to
cultivate good nutrition habits rather than spending their extra money on junk
food. So, I want to appreciate Jago for this laudable program, for this voluntary
act, especially at a time like this when many companies in the country are
lamenting there is no money , yet you are going about distributing your products
voluntarily".

She, however, implored the company to include sponsorship of schools event on their
CSR platform.

She noted: "We want Sosaco to sponsor our end of year prize giving day, inter-house
sports. On such occasion, they can bring their products and serve it hot or cold to
the audience.

Giving insight into the company's operation in Nigeria, Managing Director, Sosaco
Nigeria Limited, Mr. Pattamaddai Raghavan Sivaswami, noted that the firm started
business in Nigeria almost ten years ago as a trading company. "The company has
shifted from merchandising to local manufacturing of household brands, namely Jago
Milk including Gino and Pomo brands of tomato paste.

"Sosaco Nigeria Limited was established in the year 1998. We are on the verge of
celebrating our 10th anniversary. It's been a long, wonderful and fruitful nine
years of our operation in Nigeria. We choose to be in the food business. When I
said food business, I meant anything that has to do with an average Nigerian�s
daily intake of breakfast, lunch and dinner. We want to offer various range of
products that are of highest quality at affordable prices, "he said.

On the company's products range, he disclosed: "We started off with just two
products in 1999, and today we have close to 20 products in our portfolio for
consumers. Our products are segmented into two markets. They are breakfast range
which include the Jago milk brands which stands for Nurturing Tomorrow's Champions,
and whatever we do with that brand will always drive that phenomenon. As far as our
meal brand is concerned, GINO tomato paste is the leading brand. We have also
launched evaporated milk in POMO brand . In the future, there will be more
offerings from the Gino/Jago brands. All our products range are doing very well in
the market ", he said.

On what percentage of their products are local manufacturing /import, he said: "The
tomato paste that we have in sachet is locally packaged by Conservaria Africana
Ltd, which is a joint venture between Watanmal Group, Hongkong, and Group Antonio
Petti, Italy. Sosaco is the exclusive distributor of products manufactured by
Conservaria Africana Ltd. Our milk product in sachet is also locally packaged. We
have our factory at Gbagada Industrial Estate and we have recently established
another factory in Ota, Ogun State. We have invested close to N1 billion in the
factory and we have concluded plans to make a fresh investment of close to N1
billion. We are setting up a new factory that is going to have six automated track
lines. So we are going to have seven machines going for our operations at Ota. As I
said earlier, we are going to invest close to a billion naira, and already N350
million has been sunk into the project and in the next six to nine months, we'll be
investing close to another N600 million which brings the total to N950 million
close to a billion naira. At completion, this project will employ 500 Nigerians".

Concerning raw materials, Sivaswami, said most of the primary raw materials for
their dairy industry comes from New Zealand. Every other item is locally sourced.
He said the value addition is about 35 to 40 per cent. "So the local content in our
product is extremely high. As I told you, apart from our primary raw materials
everything else is sourced locally," he said

According to him, the company currently has about 400 employees ranging from
administrative to sales and distribution.

"In our dairy factory at Gbagada industrial Estate, Lagos , we have close to 150
people. We also have operations in Ibadan, Aba, Onitsha, Kano, Sokoto, Maiduguri
and Suleja," said Sivaswami.