Wilmar re-launches 'cholesterol-free' Frytol

Wilmar International Limited has today re-launched one of its flagship products “frytol” onto the Ghanaian market.

The launch which aims to help the company reconnect to lost consumers and attract new patrons, was also used to announce the cholesterol free nature of frytol and its importance to a balance diet.

Speaking at the re-launch, General Manger of Wilmar Africa Limited, Kwame Wiafe described the events as a necessary avenue to help repel negative perceptions and conceptions hindering the consumption of the product by Ghanaians.

According to him, it was important for the new generation to learn about products which have been in the system for decades and why these products have survived the test of time.

“frytol is cholesterol free and it is produced from our own palm oil. The same oil that we get from our plantations here in Ghana. For us, we are here to assure our customers that we are still giving our best and producing the best. Frytol has been on the market for over three decades and we need the younger generation to know about this brand that has nurtured them from childhood.”

While explaining the change from being a product of Unilever-Ghana to being owned by Wilmar International, Mr. wiafe said, the quality of the product has not changed as many feared.

“In 2010 when Wilmar was looking for a way to enter the Ghanaian market, they were fortunate to get Unilever, also trying to come out of the oil business. Wilmar did not only buy frytol as a brand but the whole plantation and the factory that makes the product. We bought the whole value chain. When we acquired frytol as a brand, the volume that was produced in a year is now produced within two weeks. We invested in new state of the art processing machines. Even though we are producing more than before, the quality remains the same or even better and we have the FDA to attest to that. All our products have met the standard requirements and are certified by FDA and standard authority. “

On his part, Head of the food industrial Support Service Department of the Food And Drugs Authority, Ebenezer Kofi Essel said the authority was committed to approving only the best for Ghanaians.

He mentioned regular testing, supervision and inspection of products as some methods used to check what gets onto the Ghanaian market and consumed by people.

“We have standards for everything, and so whether it is frytol or any other commodity, the FDA ensures that it is processed and presented in a manner that will ensure that consumers who eat it, as has been prescribed will not have any health effect. For any food that comes to us, we evaluate the product information, then we have a team that will visit their factory to access them and then we pick sample of the product and test in the lab. These test are very important.”

The re-launch of frytol which took place at the company’s office in Tema, was attended by the media, some consumers and representatives from the FDA.