Unilever Ethiopia, has launched Knorr Mitted Shiro, a new stew powder inspired by a commonly consumed stew in the Eastern African country.
Stefan Cloete, Unilever’s Managing Director East Africa hinted the food spices biggie, had to take cues from the Ethiopian local dish apparently to live the saying, ‘think global but act local.’
According to MD, Shiro is made of Split or chickpea powder combined with a blend of local spices and is usually taken with Injera (a sour fermented pancake-like flatbread, traditionally made of teff flour).
Marketed under the brand name Knorr Miten Shiro, the company said the ingredient is a blend of all-natural ingredients that are used to make the popular Shiro wat in Ethiopia, enjoyed by all age groups.
Cloete explains that as more women go out of the house to pursue careers, Ethiopian working moms find it increasingly difficult to find time to go through this lengthy and tiresome process of making Shiro powder, which takes typically two weeks to prepare.
To ensure Ethiopian families still continue to enjoy these food that is not only delicious but also highly nutritious, Cloete’s team undertook the onerous task of commercially producing.
“Our team has worked tirelessly to ensure that the product meets the highest standards of quality and taste. Our new Knorr Mitin Shiro is made from all-natural ingredients and is free from any harmful additives,”Cleote said in a LinkedIn post.
“The ingredient not only does taste like ‘Mom’s tastiest Shiro’ but has also been fortified with Vitamin A to support optimal growth and development, thereby addressing micronutrient deficiency specifically in Ethiopia,” he added.
Since the Ethiopian population lives on a largely cereal-based diet, with the consumption of meat, fresh fruit, and vegetable being low, Unilever says one in two Ethiopians does not consume enough zinc.
For this reason, they ensured that each stock cube was fortified with a 28% zinc supply to contribute towards eradicating zinc deficiency in the country.
