Specific Deliverables

Prototype development

1. Identify suitable recipes for nutritious flour formulas (or other food products) applicable in school meal programs
2. Create and develop 1-3 prototypes for new food products with high nutritious content based on biofortified staple crops (and optionally other ingredients), with a target of 200g covering 50% of the average daily requirements for vitamin A, iron, or zinc
3. Report of product specifications and requirements (e.g. ingredients, potential suppliers, required volumes, food safety measures, hygiene, food product regulation requirements, estimated costs, etc.)
4. Produce a prototype (100 pieces) for consumer feedback and testing

First product line

1. Develop a production plan for the first product line (including assessment of costs, required volumes, potential suppliers, as well as above and/or other requirements)
2. Produce first product line for 1-3 products for 88 schools (10,000 pieces)

Marketing and communication strategy

1. Develop a branding, marketing, and communication strategy for the new food products targeted at schools (and optionally other markets), based on the feedback from consumer testing and user experience, and under consideration of consumer attitudes, market trends, and consumer awareness for nutritious foods in Zambia

Business Plan Development

1. Assess the potential of the food products in regards to nutritional impact, end user acceptance, and market viability
2. Assess potential sales patterns, trends, market development for nutritious food products in school feeding and other markets for the next five years
3. Develop a business plan for production and financial projections for 5 years, including potential agreements with suppliers, HarvestPlus, and/or other licensing agreements

Technical assistant and project evaluation

1. Provide overall technical assistance to the project in regards to nutritious food product development in Zambia (e.g. by contributing to data collection on the viability of the Zambian market for biofortified food products, food trends, and food product sales)
2. Contribute to the project evaluation with lessons learnt and recommendations

3. Preferred Qualifications

   • Expertise in food product development, prototyping, testing, and consumer-oriented development based on user feedback and market requirements under special consideration of nutrition and health aspects
   • Knowledge of consumer attitudes, ideally children and stakeholders linked to school feeding
   • Understanding of regulatory requirements, market requirements, market trends, and user preferences in Zambia
   • Experience in strategizing market entry and scaling food products in the market
   • Experience in business plan development
   • Knowledge of specific challenges in creating local supply chains involving institutional off-takers
   • Adaptability to existing workplans
   • Presence in Zambia and the ability to work alongside HarvestPlus expert agronomists, nutritionists, and project managers
   • Partner must be licensed to operate in Zambia with immediate start, May 2024