History
Nutrivida develops highly nutritious, fortified food products that are sold at a very small profit margin, so that as many people as possible can access these high-quality foods. Nutrivida is a social business inspired by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, who is also one of the co-founders of Nutrivida.
The social business began with three fortification vehicles: fortified infant cereal (for babies between six months and two years), fortified chicken soup, and fortified orange-flavored powdered drink. Ten years later, Nutrivida has 13 highly nutritious products: two infant cereals, four soups, five beverages, and two spice mixes (consommés). The products mentioned above are fortified with the best vitamins and minerals.
Since its creation in 2013, Nutrivida has managed to provide food to more than 2.7 million people and has donated more than 650,000 foods in Central America, Venezuela and Haiti.
We have consolidated a network of allies around the world with more than 35 NGOs, government institutions, private companies and multinational institutions. It is important to mention that Nutrivida is certified as "Essential Costa Rica" (country brand of Costa Rica).
Our modelor innovative business:
Instead of selling regular food at normal prices as many companies do, or giving away food as many NGOs do around the world, being a social business, Nutrivida combines the best of both worlds: civil society and the private sector. It uses the strengths and tools of a regular business to produce and deliver high-quality food, but instead of aiming to maximize profits, Nutrivida sells its products at a very low margin in order to be financially sustainable while still offering high-quality food. quality to as many people as possible.
Our innovative value propositionnow:
All Nutrivida products are fortified versions of convenient and widely used food categories.entityused. All Nutrivida products have been developed with the best fortification, but at the same time with the best flavor and packaging. Our value proposition is the perfect combination of taste, nutrition and price.
impact up now:
Nutrivida is the first social business in Central America and one of the few in the world that successfully competes with companiess normal and has managed to generate a concrete social impact for more than 2.7 million people so far.
Gisela Sánchez was the intrapreneur behind Nutrivida. While working for FIFCO, a leading food and beverage company in Costa Rica, he designed Nutrivida's social business plan and launched it in 2013. Nutrivida was originally a joint venture between FIFCO and Yunus Social Business. In 2022, Gisela and her husband Federico assumed the leadership of Nutrivida as their family social business, with a commitment to continue increasing the social impact in Costa Rica and hopefully in other countries around the world. She went from being an intrapreneur to an entrepreneur. The joint venture between the organization of Professor Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Yunus Social Business, and Nutrivida continues to this day.
Gisela says that Nutrivida is her personal purpose because she herself experienced malnutrition as a child, and her commitment to eradicating hidden hunger goes far beyond a regular social effort. "There is nothing more important to a human being than love and food. My life commitment is to make Nutrivida a successful solution to hidden hunger around the world," said Sánchez.
In 2022, Gisela was recognized as the Schwab Foundation Intrapreneur of the Year and received this important recognition during the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos in May 2022.