World Milk Day: Peak leads in milk versatility

It was an entertaining, informative and amazing time at the Lagos State Television, LTV grounds on June 1, 2017 when over 5,000 children from several schools gathered for the World Milk Day celebration.
Nigeria’s leading Milk Brand, Peak Milk spearheaded this edition with the continuation of their versatility campaign tagged PeCaDoMo encouraging consumers to do more with Peak Milk. This was executed via a cooking competition amongst secondary schools.
Almost 2,000 schools displayed a high level of interest in the contest, however only 10 schools qualified for the grand finale to cook before a live audience. The first position was clinched by Whitefield High School and was awarded N500, 000 cash price. Susan Memorial School and Birell Avenue School were second and third respectively and were also awarded cash prices of N300, 000 and N150, 000. Appreciation was also shown to 10 Home economics teachers who were rewarded.
To watch the children do their thing on a professional level was Chef Victor Akpojovwo of KitchenVictore, who joined the project this second season. His job for the project was to access what the schools put together; “We have done a lot with them in the past three weeks and they put up really impressive acts. Today, they will be working on a time line and they will be working in front of people, so there is a tendency to have pressure set in, however we are looking for the best application of Peak which is Nigerians number one milk and how well they can apply this in their everyday cooking beyond the use of tea.” “So far, it has been an awesome experience with a lot of learning that has gone on in the process.”
“If you walk into the hall you will find over 5, 000 students; so imagine that number of students here on a school day, then it’s got potentials. Come to think of it; Peak has been offering quality nutrition in Nigeria since 1954, and offers unrivaled quality, taste and nourishment. This will go very far.”
Ben Langat, managing director, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, speaking on the concept of the competition said, “This is a concept that has been put in place to encourage creativity in children, because children are very creative when it comes to recipes and showcase unique and diverse ways of using milk. Peak Can Do More is the general idea behind it, so that Peak is not seen as only used for tea, but you can use it for baking, cooking, smoothies and other recipes.
“This is the idea of creating more recipes around milk, and it is a way of passing nutrition in more ways, because Peak is about nutrition.”
On where this event might lead to in the future, Langat said, “The whole idea at the end of the day is to make sure that we develop better, more nutritious and unique recipes that can be passed from one generator to another. “I am very excited about the turn out; to be honest, this is much more than we expected and overwhelming. I see the excitement on the faces of the children and more importantly they have become Peak Ambassadors.
Adenihun Adebukunola, from Jibowu Junior High School, and President, Home Economics Teachers Association, Lagos state thinks the event is an encouragement for students to know more about the nutritional value of Peak and the many nutrients and minerals required for optimal growth and development. Her expectations from the students after the event are that they would showcase what they have learnt in their various schools and propagate to their families.
According to her, Home Economics in schools have been a source of training where children know more about the food they eat. “Some think it is all about food preparation, but in it, there is clothing & textile and also home management. We teach children how to manage things at home, and how to make use of leftovers instead of throwing it away. At the same time we train children how to dress, and be presentable in society,” she said.
Of course there is the notion that cooking is a lady’s thing, but among the excited students, both boys and girls were ably represented.
“In our culture we believe women are meant to be in the kitchen, but nowadays a lot of things are happening and changing, for instance most eateries springing up are owned by men. What a man can do, a woman can do better and vice versa,” Adebukunola said.
For Maureen Ifada, marketing manager, “Seeing these children, we are very glad, the turnout is massive. We expect these students to come not just to learn but to put it in practice what they have learnt in their everyday foods because Peak milk has all that is required for stronger bodies and sharper minds and it certainly helps Nigerian children reach for their peak. We expect that after this event; taking the learning from the entire process; from the school activation, they will put this is practice and begin to use Peak more.”The competition is in its second year, and Ifada hopes it becomes more Pan-Nigeria, extending to more cities. “With the beauty of the internet, we are able to put all these on our social media platforms, so wherever you are in the country, you can know about the recipes,” she added.
“Today is World Milk Day,” said Tarang Gupta, marketing director, while shedding more light on the purpose of the event. “It started in 2001, and the reason is very clear- milk is the most nutritious in the part of nature that has ever been given, so let us celebrate the children.
“Here we are specifically entertaining the children by showing how Peak can be used in different versatile ways because milk has more value than anything else, so let us use it more in different things and make the food nutritious.
PECADOMO, simply means ‘Peak Can Do More than what it is being currently used for’. So this is the second year we are doing this but Peak has been celebrating Milk Day for the past 16 years.
Asked what Peak was able to achieve at the last edition, he said, “Last year was a raving success; the children started understanding there is a lot more to do with milk, so they go back to their parents and start discussing, “why don’t you put milk in eba,” because eba alone is carbohydrate, the moment you add milk, especially Peak, it adds a lot more nutritious value to it, at the end of it the level of malnutrition in the country, adding a little bit of milk to everything adds a lot more nutrition to the children and that is the whole purpose – to nourish Nigeria.”
About nourishing the country, Gupta said the activity is in one place, but for the event school activation and digital means were utilised to spread the message across the country and at the end of the day, “I want to see each and every child go back home and say Mummy, add more milk to my meal.”
Indeed it was a wonderful and fulfilling time and event for all involved, with both participating schools, winners as well as the organisers look forward to a more explosive third edition!

 

MABEL DIMMA