Lagos-based startup Backel has created a range of products that are healthier alternatives to traditional food and drinks like Kefir drink and Vegan Chocolates. Although born in 2024, the new company is on the verge of launching a revolutionary healthy food alternative later this year.
In this interview, Favour Nnadi, Backel’s visionary founder, discusses her journey in creating healthier alternatives to traditional snacks and beverages.
Despite her non-traditional background in nutrition, Favour’s personal experiences have led her to a profound understanding of the connection between diet and well-being.
Read the full interview below:
Can you what inspired you to start a company focused on healthier alternatives to traditional sweets and sodas?
“My company doesn’t just produce healthier alternatives to sweets. Essentially we are creating a range of products that replaces the regular unhealthy and harmful snacks. My personal journey started when I was battling an autoimmune condition and my battle was specific to me because when you have such a severe condition, you get pumped steroids in hospitals which unfortunately isn’t a permanent solution with adverse effects like ulcer, heartburns, psychosis, especially when you have a leaky gut. I had a terrible ulcer when I started using steroids, so I started to figure out how to stop using steroids.
Forming Backel was as a result of me figuring out that food was what will heal my leaky gut, as in when I started eating better, my health became better. Before I became diet restricted, I loved snacks a lot, so I wondered how I could create a product that can not only replace the regular snacks but is also good for your guts, especially for people like me who are trying to eat healthy.”
How do you source your ingredients and do you prioritize organic or local supplies? What do you use to replace traditional sugar in your products?
“That is the entire point of Backel, 90 per cent of our process is organic and made in Nigeria, as we do source local and prioritize local ingredients.
As to the sugar ingredients, it is a company secret but when trying to make sugar products, it depends on what you are trying to make. We use a bunch of sugar alternatives; some low form of sugar, some healthier forms of sugar like dates.”
What’s your most popular product that resonates the most with customers? Do you offer any vegan options and have you noticed an increase in demand for vegan products since launching your company?
“Interestingly, we currently do not have a star product between the two products as they are both doing well. We have the drinks in two flavors and we have the vegan chocolates. At first, they were getting the same attention because when we launched the drinks, it had much more publicity and Backel drinks are quick pick-me-ups since they are always served cold. When the chocolates came in, we discovered our niche, and we are watching and taking feedback from customers as we go.
As for the vegan product, I don’t think we have grown big enough to shift the hand of consumers yet, but over the past years in terms of education, cautiousness and understanding of eating better, there has been an increase in vegan products, dairy free products etc. We have entered a market where people are especially interested in vegan products and there is existing demand for the product already.”
Can you share a success story of how your company/products or advice have positively impacted someone’s health?
“In regards to our products, we get a lot of positive feedback with the drinks and vegan chocolates, especially from diet restricted people. However, my buck of success this year will be from my personal coaching services where I offer coaching services to help people who are suffering from leaky guts syndrome. I assist them in curating a diet that works in a way that heals them from inside.”
What’s your view on the role of indulgence in a healthy lifestyle, especially around your chocolate products. How do you balance profitability with ensuring your products deliver real health benefits?
“One of our core values at Backel is social corporate responsibility which means that we will never at the risk of profit create products that will be harmful to people’s health. I think that is why big name product alternatives don’t work for people like me because they are created primarily with profits at the back of their minds.
I feel bad when I read labels and they are filled with unhealthy ingredients which a normal person won’t notice, tagged healthy.
As a small craft company, it is important that as we grow, our prices will remain a certain way because that is the way we ensure we deliver value as much as we are trying to spread and grow into the consumer market. As we keep our products and prices standard, we are able to produce in a way that is profitable for us; even when we cut costs, we do so in a way that it won’t affect the consumer’s health as that is the top priority.
Meanwhile, there should be moderation with everything to do with dieting, vegetables, snacks, mixing foods, etc.”
How do you maintain work-life balance while running a health-focused company, and what are your views on self-care?
“Funny enough, I don’t maintain any healthy balance because Backel is my life. I do hope to have a balance in the future. I try my best not to miss important things like family occasions or being there for the ones I love. Once in a while, I take time to do things I like and I make sure I get enough sleep so that my brain can work, which is the most self care I do these days.
I think self care is important, but you don’t need to do it all at once. My preaching doesn’t end at selling healthy products to people, self care to me is prioritizing the highest quality of meals and consuming them.
The way I see life, we spend so much on material things, but there is a powerhouse that sustains all of that. In order not to spend life savings in the hospital, as you are enjoying life, you should also enjoy the healthiest, freshest meals you can afford.”
What challenges have you faced in convincing consumers that healthier options can be just as satisfying?
“For me, the challenge we faced mostly is that an average Nigerian’s response to products they aren’t familiar with is “No!” So we realized that with new products, you need to consistently give people a trial and space.
We use testers (samples) to convince consumers because we noticed that when people have our testers, they want more. Social promotion is quite important as well.
How do you see the healthy food and beverage industry evolving in the next five to ten years? Also why is it important to have companies like yours effecting change in the country?
“The healthy food and beverage industry is a billion dollar industry that is growing and in the next five to ten years we are bound to see it explode because people are becoming more conscious of their health, they are getting to understand that the consumption of food is directly proportional to output and the length of productivity their body will give them.
As regards the second question, this is a topic I am passionate about. Nigerians are falling sick and the number will keep increasing because we have a high crab, low protein diet structure and with the inclusion of western diet in our food, people are having gut, liver, kidney, high blood pressure problems among others.
All these come from consistently eating food that doesn’t give you complete nutrients. I am not saying you shouldn’t have a pizza or two but my problem is that these unhealthy foods make up 70-80% of what Nigerian consumers consume which poses a big problem.
Companies like Backel are important at these times because people are becoming more educated about their health. And when they make the difficult decisions to quit smoking, drinking and eating better, they would have alternatives worth their time and can put their money into.”
What’s next for Backel? Can you share any upcoming product launches? Also what do you want to achieve with your company in the coming years?
We are very excited for the future of Backel. In the coming years we hope to be a leading African brand in the healthy beverage space not only that, we hope to have expansions outside Nigeria.
I can’t say too much about the upcoming launches, but we do have one product launch in the next few months and another next year. It is a revolutionary product and a game changer in the food industry and my team and I are excited about it.
Everything Backel does is an innovation as all the products have gone through months and sometimes years of research and testing. So I am excited at the prospects.”
As the healthy food and beverage industry continues to grow, it’s clear that companies like Backel play a crucial role in offering consumers healthier, yet satisfying alternatives. With exciting new products on the horizon and a commitment to quality and health, Backel is poised to thrive in the African market and beyond.
