How creamy is your milk and choco drinks?
By Jacqui Iwu (jackie@sunnewsonline.com)
Saturday, January 19, 2008

I have to write this!! I just have to comment on the quality of locally produced or packaged milk and chocolate drinks all over the country. This issue has been bothering me for sometime and Jacqui must be Jacqui!! Not being a breakfast person but sometimes, I try to have a little bit of breakfast with my usual coffee and some oat. I am usually a coffee/ tea-on-the-run kind of person.

Each time I leave my liquid milk for some powdered milk but Lo, the milk will simply spoil the appearance and taste of my steaming coffee. There is always milk particles even after dissolving and I get angry because, I could not figure out if I was drinking coffee, milk or sugar. The powdered milk is not creamy and has only sugary taste – too much sugar! Still wondering and annoyed for not enjoying my coffee with powdered milk, I usually go for some oat, with the same sugar – sugar milk and I have to pour heaps and heaps of the stuff to see if I can get the milk flavour and enjoy my oat.

If you drink oat, you are aware that it taste wonderful with good creamy milk but, my oat still turn out to be just sugary taste. Walahi, what was these companies thinking about when producing such milk? These Companies also happen to be owned by foreigners and am sure such milk will be rejected by dogs in their various countries yet, the milk products are every where in this country and Nigerians just keep drinking in the name of milk. I do not want to mention names but companies involved in such low quality milk productions surely know themselves.

Yes, you sure do because, you people know Nigerian consumers accept anything and hardly speak out. The worst part is, these low standard products hardly improve over the years but, their prices keep going up as they depreciate in value and quality. Now how about chocolate drinks? One of the sugar-sugar milk company came out with a fantastic Chocolate drink some years back and the Nigerian consumers including Jacqui ran after their choco drink. Their choco drink tasted like foreign carnation choco mix. It was the best then with the exception of the foreign ones.

That was why I went for it initially but today, the choco drink is nothing but cocoa + lots of sugar –no milk! Why do we keep having products that depreciate over the years instead of improving like we have overseas? Even our close door niegbour – Ghana! Have you seen products from Ghana? Better than what we have here! Even their toothpick! Yes Nigerians import toothpicks from Ghana and I have it! Don’t tell me about patriotism because, no real human being wants to consume or use low standard products. I will not! Patriotism or not!

For companies who are into producing low quality milk and Chocolate products for Nigerians, please stop spending millions in Adverts rather, improve the quality of your products. A lot of you are busy with Hi-tech Adverts yet forgetting to give us good quality products. Advert is good for business but, good products sell themselves, advert or no advert. Nigerian consumers should also speak out! Haba! A lot of our consumers just keep sealed lips and grumble inside. Speak out! Most of these companies know you do not complain and they continue short -changing you. Manufacturing companies should have functional toll free phone numbers where people can call and register their complaints.

The customer care phone numbers you see on some of the products hardly work. Any company that has unfunctional phone numbers on their product should be taxed appropriately.
Finally, the authority in charge of approving such consumable items should also try to do their job as required.
FITNESS WATCH: If you are on diet, always go for good low fat-skimmed milk.
BEAUTY SPLASH: Cucumber face mask works wonders on those eye bags and dark lines.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
When you speak out, people will know how to help you.