Innovation for nutrition: Millhouse pioneers a Smartfill solution to combat malnutrition in schools
Fortified food producer Millhouse has teamed up with digital transformation consultancy DYDX and start-up Smartfill to introduce an innovative, self-dispensing nutrition solution at the Julukandoda Primary School in Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal. Smartfill technology is being used to provide Millhouse Africa's fortified nutrition mix - ENDGAME - to students. The scaleable Project ENDGAME partnership aims to tackle the alarming rate of malnutrition among African children, which affected over 61 million children in 2021.
The problem of acute malnutrition exacerbates the already high levels of food insecurity in South Africa. The South African Child Gauge reveals that approximately 60% of children in the country live below the poverty line with 6.4 million children living beneath the food poverty threshold. The BMC Nutrition Journal shows that stunting, a glaring manifestation of chronic malnutrition, affects 27% of South African school-aged children, revealing that children are not receiving the essential nutrition required for their physical growth and cognitive development. The introduction of the Smartfill system and ENDGAME nutrition mix in schools presents a potential solution to this pressing concern.
Millhouse manufactures unique vitamin and micronutrient blends from its specialised plant in Dube Tradeport. André Redinger, CEO of Millhouse, says, "Feeding schemes exist, but the fight extends beyond filling stomachs – to truly win, we need to strengthen bodies and minds. So we imagined a world where every child gets the vitamins and minerals they need to reach their full potential, and came up with ENDGAME: a powerful, cost-effective and sustainable revolutionary force igniting positive change where it’s needed the most."
The ENDGAME nutrient blend is a carefully formulated supplement that boosts immunity, supports vision, aids nerve function, and fuels energy production. The Millhouse food supplement scheme across Africa already helps this blend to reach more than three hundred thousand children, but with complications wasting money and resources, Millhouse needed an out-of-the-box solution, says Redinger. Combining Smartfill’s innovative technology and DYDX’s human-centred design skills, the new ENDGAME dosing unit is an automated, self-dispensing, free-standing unit that can be easily rolled out across Africa. It provides an efficient technology-driven solution that is cost-effective, efficient, hygienic and helps to manage supply chain issues.
The technology behind this dispenser, initially developed to facilitate package-less retail, solves key challenges including the cost of management, improved logistics and access to data in real-time – all in a secure loT environment. Students are able to dispense pre-mixed quantities and facial recognition technology tracks participation. The dispenser sensors provide stock levels to the school and the supplier, simplifying restocking and distribution.
Nevo Hadas, a partner at DYDX, says, "School feeding is a powerful tool to alleviate short-term hunger and enhance children’s learning capacities. We're excited to partner with Millhouse to tailor our Smartfill product and apply it to school feeding needs. Our Smartfill technology with complete traceability will ensure that every investment and donation to school feeding directly impacts lives. Using cutting-edge technology, it transcends traditional limitations, setting new standards in accountability and impact measurement."
Redinger adds, "It’s not just technology; it's an auditable precision weapon that aims to help each child reach their full potential, with no wasted resources. ENDGAME is a life-changing solution for these kids. We’re fighting a battle for well-nourished bodies and minds, hungry only to fulfil their potential."
While Smartfill alone may not solve hunger in Africa, it represents the type of innovative thinking that, combined with other efforts, could make a significant impact. "This is just the start. Partners are invited to support the initiative and join the movement with ENDGAME, where transparency is a revolutionary force shaping a brighter, healthier future for all."
ENDS
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ABOUT MILLHOUSE
Millhouse is a purpose-driven African brand that seeks to combat malnutrition through the production and supply of fortified staple foods. The company operates as the sole African-owned manufacturer of vitamin and micronutrient blends, functioning from a specially commissioned plant in South Africa.
Millhouse products are supplied to small, medium, and large mills throughout Africa. Apart from being a provider of premium blends, Millhouse sees itself as an active player in the fight against malnutrition, with every aspect of their operations designed towards achieving this goal as quickly as possible.
The company is led by CEO André Redinger, who comes from a fourth-generation sugar and timber farming family in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. His background has given him a unique perspective on the impact of food fortification and biofortification business models on the African continent.His commitment to this cause is embodied in Millhouse’s pioneering business model of fuelling knowledge, fortifying foods and feeding programmes.
André passionately believes in owning a supply chain to produce commodities that serve local communities. He believes that this optimises nutritional value, accessibility and affordability. In so doing, the quality and spirit of the produce stays local. As do the profits, which help fund Andre’s efforts to combat malnourishment in Africa through his philanthropic organisations: Lodestar Centre of Excellence and Southern Lodestar Foundation.
https://millhouse.africa
ABOUT DYDX AND SMARTFILL
DYDX is a digital transformation practice that helps businesses adapt and grow in a rapidly changing environment, developing usable digital ideas into in-market solutions.
DYDX worked with Smollan, a retail solutions company, to design and create the Smartfill solution with sustainability in mind, aiming to reduce waste and encourage reusability. The Smartfill is an innovative Internet of Things (IoT) product designed to revolutionise retail shelving. It's a dispenser that allows consumers to bring their own containers and dispense a variety of food and hygiene products, reducing the need for single-use packaging. Smartfill is now an independent start-up ripe for capital investment.
ABOUT DYDX
Founded in 2013, DYDX is a digital transformation consultancy that uses its extensive industry expertise to help businesses adapt and grow in rapidly changing environments.
Digitisation is accelerating and disrupting traditional distribution channels, products and services and changing the way employees interact, connect and work together which is why businesses must fundamentally rethink how they can compete in an accelerating market for the long-term.
As a global team of specialists operating across Europe and Africa, DYDX has the expertise to support and evolve organisations by creating groundbreaking operational models that are highly scalable to enable the delivery of new value opportunities that can meet the challenges of a digital future.
The DYDX difference lies in innovative ways of working and the employment of tried and tested methodologies. It is a digitally driven organisation built for a new age of rapid transformation.
Website: http://dydx.digital/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dydxdigital
ABOUT SMARTFILL
Smartfill aims to make package-less retail the dominant way people buy dry foods under 1kg. This makes it possible for more people from lower-income households to afford more food because packaging costs are substantially lower plus it reduces plastic waste and packaging pollution.
Through Smartfill’s technology platform:
- single-use plastic and packaging can be eliminated,
- a variety of food and cleaning products can be dispensed,
- customers can choose to view product information, select the amount of product they would like dispensed by value or weight and print their price sticker providing consumers,
- stores are able to track stock levels in real-time and re-order from suppliers,
- retailers can view hundreds of dispensers across diverse geographic locations,
- retailers, consumers and brands can capitalise on a holistically better experience across the entire value chain
Smartfill’s solutions are aimed at both developing economies, through informal retailers and modern retailers through retail outlets and kiosks. It has won numerous awards and has received UKRI grant funding.
Website: https://smartfill.store/
Media contact:
Tamaryn Brown
084 3510560
Tamaryn@connectmedia.co.za