Malnutrition continues to affect around 30% of children under five in Tanzania, with access to safe and nutritious foods remaining a significant challenge, particularly in rural areas.

To help address this gap, Arla Foods Ingredients, in collaboration with Galaxy Food & Beverages and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), has launched a new fortified yoghurt designed specifically for low-income families.

Packed in convenient 100ml sachets, the yoghurt is affordable, nutritious, and tailored to local taste preferences, making it easier to distribute—even in remote communities. With dairy consumption on the rise in Tanzania, the initiative also carries strong commercial potential, supporting the growth of a sustainable dairy value chain and creating local jobs.

This effort builds on the first scalable business model developed in Ethiopia and forms part of Arla Foods Ingredients’ commitment to the Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge. 

From August 2025, the initiative will enter a new phase, supported by funding from the Austrian Development Agency (ADA).

This next phase will focus on scaling the model and introducing new solar-powered milk cooling hubs close to dairy farmers to sustainably reduce milk spoilage, while securing dairy farmer incomes and a stable supply of safe milk to dairy processors. 
 

Over the next two years, the partnership will:

• Upgrade 15 existing milk collection centres from diesel generators to solar power and establish seven new solar-powered hubs in Arusha and Kilimanjaro, serving more than 7,000 smallholder farmers.
• Train 300 lead farmers 70% of them women on food safety, milk handling, and livestock management. These lead farmers will share knowledge with over 7,000 others across approximately 50 cooperatives.
• Support Galaxy Foods to expand production of affordable fortified yoghurt, sold at roughly half the price of regular yoghurt, and increase access through schools and retail markets in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, and Kilimanjaro.
  Collaborate with national stakeholders including the Tanzania Dairy Board,
• Tanzania Bureau of Standards, and the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries to promote fortified dairy products in schools and strengthen the national School Milk Programme.

These measures will not only improve access to affordable, nutritious dairy products particularly for schoolchildren but also reduce the sector’s environmental footprint. By transitioning to solar energy, the project is expected to cut emissions, while the use of whey permeate in yoghurt production will help reduce food waste and create a circular economy opportunity.

This collaboration highlights how nutrition, livelihoods, and sustainability can be strengthened together. By bringing farmers, processors, and schools into one value chain, the model demonstrates strong potential for scaling across East Africa.
 

Thanks to all project partners including Galaxy Food & Beverages, GAIN, Arla Foods Ingredients, SUN Business Network, Novonesis, Promaco, DSM, the Tanzania Dairy Board, Tanzania Bureau of Standards, and the Austrian Development Agency.