Winifred Okafor Isichei is building Bonita Foods – a Nigerian food company that creates healthy, plant-based snacks using locally sourced ingredients and sustainable methods.
Isichei, a trained lawyer and development finance expert, never imagined she would end up in the food manufacturing business. But in 2017, what started as a craving for healthier snacks during pregnancy became the seed for Bonita Foods Limited, a Nigerian company now leading the way in plant-based, low-sugar, natural snacks.
Isichei journeys into entrepreneurship
Before founding Bonita Foods, the businesswoman’s career took a different trajectory. Winifred Okafor Isichei obtained her law degree from Niger Delta University and was called to the Nigerian Bar. Subsequently, she entered commercial legal practice and gained experience in fintech, corporate governance, and intellectual property before transitioning to development finance.
For a decade, she has collaborated closely with institutions such as the Central Bank of Nigeria and the UK Department for International Development (DFID), concentrating on economic policy, financial inclusion, and development strategy.
However, her pregnancy triggered the birth of Bonita Foods.
Frustrated by the lack of genuinely healthy and convenient snack options in Nigerian stores, mostly filled with artificial additives or sugar, Isichei began experimenting at home. Her coconut chips recipe, baked rather than fried, all-natural, gluten-free, and shelf-stable, became the prototype for what would soon launch a full-scale food company.
Birthing Bonita Foods
Bonita Foods Limited was registered in 2017 and launched its first official product line, baked coconut chips, soon after. Since then, the brand has expanded to include six snack categories, such as coconut yoghurt, nut clusters, moringa bites, and other products made from cashew, tiger nut, plantain, moringa, and ginger, all sourced locally.
The company’s business model emphasises nutrition, sustainability, and women’s empowerment. Winifred Isichei has built her supply chain around rural women processors and farmers, especially in coconut-producing areas like Badagry, ensuring fair trade and traceability. The company employs solar drying and clean processing methods to minimise energy consumption while extending shelf life without preservatives.
To date, Bonita Foods has created jobs for over 50 people, most of whom are women. The brand’s popularity has steadily grown due to its visibility through pop-up markets, retail distribution, and digital platforms. In 2022, Meta featured Bonita Foods in its global “Made in Africa, Loved by the World” campaign, amplifying its reach and spotlighting the founder as a face of African innovation.
The businesswoman’s long-term goal is to build Bonita into a global African brand, and steps toward international export are underway. The company is eyeing markets in North America and Europe, with plans to expand distribution by 2026.
Alongside running the company, Winifred Okafor Isichei continues to lend her voice to policy and development conversations, but Bonita remains her primary focus. Her work aligns with multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals, from zero hunger to responsible consumption and gender equality.
