DSM brings nutrition to Jakarta's slums

Related tags Nutrition

As part of a new CSR plan, DSM, the world’s largest producer of vitamins, carotenoids and nutritional lipids, has joined forces with an NGO to bring healthy street food and nutritious meals to children in Jakarta’s poorest neighbourhoods.

Together with Mercy Corps, DSM has branded the food cart enterprise KeBAL and is growing it into a viable franchise concept. Soon, KeBAL menus will feature rice porridge, rice meals, nutritious jelly and healthy drinks.

DSM is lending its expertise in developing micronutrient compositions to KeBAL, which expects it will soon have scalable potential for replication in other parts of Indonesia and across the world.

“We see KeBAL as a fantastic opportunity to reach young children of low-income households with nutritious meals and snacks. Balanced food providing all vitamins and minerals is crucial for the physical and mental development of children.

“But unfortunately millions of children worldwide suffer from micronutrient deficiencies. KeBAL’s proposition of ‘street food nutrition’ is unique, and we are proud to be a partner in this endeavour” said Stephan Tanda, member of the DSM managing board.

This partnership is part of DSM’s nutrition improvement programme, which functions as a marketing unit and incubator to incorporate new nutritional products into business models that are market-driven, financially sustainable and scalable. The KeBAL street food franchise perfectly fits these criteria and has the potential to keep succeeding.