Dansa Foods is an indigenous Nigerian company and operates within the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry. Part of the Dangote Group – the largest manufacturing conglomerate in Nigeria – Dansa Foods started commercial production in 2006 with its Tetrapack line. However, Dansa's product line has expanded dramatically since then and now offers consumers a range of fruit juices, carbonated soft drinks , dairy products and bottled water.

Founded in 1994,the company is based in Lagos but has regional offices and warehouses in several Nigerian locations including Ikeja, Port Harcourt, Kaduna, Kano,  Aba  Abuja, Ibadan, Maiduguri, Asaba and Benin. Dansa Foods’ vision is "to be a dominant food and beverage company admired in Africa and beyond."

“We are a young company but in this short period, we have been able to get our local brands into every household in Nigeria,” says Managing Director George Eremionkhale who has 25 years experience in the beverage industry. “We are the only company to have this full range of non-alcoholic beverages in Nigeria. We are flexible and able to make quick decisions as well as driving innovation in terms of products and packaging.”

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

“We focus on continuous improvement because we want to set ourselves apart from the already established beverage companies in Nigeria,” says Eremionkhale.

Dansa Foods set quality benchmarks, do periodic reviews , and identify gaps that need filling. Periodic reviews enable the company to assess both positive and negative attributes of the processes and people.

“Our strategy is to deliver our customers expected level of value and service at a cost in which Dansa can remain profitable through continuous improvement. We look at the quality of goods being manufactured - so in procurement for example, we pay attention to the quality and cost of supplies,” notes Eremionkhale.

PEOPLE MANAGEMENT

Dansa has a staff compliment of 434 with 25 percent of these employees dedicated to sales and marketing its products. When it comes to educating staff, Dansa use a variety of methods to ensure employees are up-to-speed with the latest industry developments.

“We have training programmes, use professional organisations in Nigeria and have a structured coaching arrangement for members of staff. We are heavily focused on on-the-job training as well,” cites Eremionkhale.

Dansa however, has incentives and rewards for employees that excel in their roles, realising that an important aspect of staff development is personal reflection and growth.

As Eremionkhale explains: “We have a star of the month award which every employee wants to achieve, so we not only offer financial incentives but also have staff recognition. We also have score cards with performance indicators which employees fill out themselves weekly and/or monthly against their targets. Thereafter they hold performance improvement sessions with their supervisors. This process has helped us to identify individual growth targets. Through this we get added transparency.”

TECHNOLOGY

Dansa Foods has a holistic management information system which covers all areas from procurement right down to delivery of the product. The company uses a virtual private network and Microsoft Dynamics (ERP) to monitor all activity at its various national locations. A growing national market means that Dansa Foods has had to invest in technology and other areas of the business to meet consumers demand.

“We are consistently expanding our technology and logistics and have increased capacity on our manufacturing line. This increase is driven by the opportunities arising in Nigeria; we need to introduce products that address the change in lifestyle which has occurred from improved wealth,” says Eremionkhale.

The company also uses aseptic technology so the product remains fresh without added preservatives.

MAJOR CLIENTS

Dansa Foods has a wide and impressive spectrum of clients which includes KFC, Shoprite, Game, Goshen, Spar, Pack and Shop, Arik Airlines, IRS Airlines, Sheraton Hotels, Universal Sodexho and Proteas Hotels. Regular meetings with customers and a platform to communicate with clients is vital for Dansa to retain these key business interests.

“We have a sales and marketing structure which manages these relationships. We have periodic face-to-face communication which review these relationships and decide on future strategy. We have a mobile phone arrangement with a company called Glo where we can talk to each other at no cost to the customers,” notes Eremionkhale.

FUTURE

Africa’s growing economy and Nigeria’s investment potential has not gone unnoticed by Dansa. Eremionkhale firmly believes that with a population of more than 140 million people, Dansa will be able to satisfy the customer’s growing needs.

“In five years, I see us extending our lines to have a lot more packages and products in relation to consumer preferences. We want to take advantage of our online social network so customers can interact with us,” says Eremionkhale.

“We need to embrace technology and expand our logistics. We will double our manufacturing capacity, actualise our backward integration initiatives on pure juice extracts from our mega farm project and expand our presence to West Africa, US and Europe. We also hope to be in a position to be listed on the Nigerian stock exchange and invite the public to invest,” Eremionkhale signs off.