1In 1993, during a conference organised by several NGOs in Paris, IRD presented a food formulation likely to respond to the nutritional needs of underweight children under five. Nutriset, a company based in Normandy, was immediately interested in the idea as they were seeking to manufacture effective renutrition foods readily available to NGOs in hot climates. This marked the beginning of a close partnership between IRD and Nutriset.

Plumpy’nut delivery in Haiti.

2While the initial idea was to manufacture a milk-based liquid, the format proved to be difficult to use in the field. After several unsuccessful attempts, the concept of a peanut-based sugar paste eventually emerged and, in 1997, the first Plumpy’nut product was tested in Kenya. A patent was filed by IRD and Nutriset. It was not until 2005 and a devastating famine in Niger, however, that product distribution actually began. In 2007, this sugar paste that children find easy to eat was recognised and certified by the UNDP, Unicef and the WHO.

Manufacturing Plumpy’nut in Niger.

••• In 1997, IRD and Nutriset created Plumpy’nut, a ready-to-use peanut-based paste. A revolution in the fight against malnutrition •••

3Very easy to use, Plumpy’nut contains milk, sugar, vegetable oils, mineral salts and vitamins. It can withstand the climatic conditions specific to Africa and can be directly administered by the mother, without water and without medical supervision. In addition, in 2005 a network of entrepreneurs based in the countries of the Global South, PlumpyField, was launched to allow local branches to also produce and distribute this food. In this regard, Nutriset contributed its expertise to the quality assurance of the nutrient-rich paste. In 2010, the patent was made available to developing countries on the Internet. In 2016, more than 43,000 tonnes of nutritional products were sold by Nutriset, which helped treat an estimated 2.5 million children suffering from acute malnutrition, a significant contribution to improving the everyday food self-sufficiency of the most vulnerable populations.

“Plumpy’nut is really effective and useful for the treatment of severely malnourished children, who can follow the treatment at home, thereby allowing us to reach many children at once.”
Noël Marie Zagré, Unicef Niger’s head of nutrition