Hilina Foods Story
Hilina Enriched Foods is a company founded by Mr. Belete Beyene and his family. 30 years after establishing and leading a Government owned Food processing company called Faffa Foods in Ethiopia, Mr. Belete decided to replicate the establishment and address the problem of malnutrition in Ethiopia in an innovative way.
In 1998, Hilina Foods was officially established to process locally available grains and enrich the flours for the prevention of malnutrition. In 2006, through UNICEF, Mr. Belete came to know about the revolutionary product called “Plumpy Nut” widely known as RUTF. This was a product that was coming from France to treat children with Severe Acute Malnutrition. It was a match made in heaven for Mr. Belete, his passion for addressing the problem of malnutrition was to be fulfilled.
A franchise agreement was signed with the maker of Plumpy Nut, Nutriset SAS. In 2007, the Plumpy Nut plant was officially inaugurated at the presence of UNICEF’s Executive Director, Mrs. Anne Veneman.
Hilina Foods has since grown to fully cover the local demand of RUTF. Hilina Foods has also started producing “Plumpy Sup” widely known as RUSF, for the treatment of Moderate Acute Malnutrition. Hilina Foods is also embarking on prevention products such as egg powder and enriched peanut butter.
Hilina Foods has 220 employees and is one of the most impactful social enterprise in Ethiopia.
See video on: Why our company was started. A brief profile of the founders. Major turning points in our company’s life. Amusing and inspirational events that have occurred along the way. This is Hilina Enriched Foods PLC.
