By Chioma Okoye

The packaging problem in Nigeria’s food sector goes far beyond aesthetics. It’s a complex intersection of environmental risk, economic strain, and industrial dependence. Babatunde Sorinola has positioned himself in the middle of that intersection with intentional steps that are beginning to shift how food businesses across the country think about packaging.

His entry into the manufacturing space came with its share of complications. The Nigerian market is historically skeptical of locally produced goods, particularly when they serve functions long dominated by imported materials. For packaging, that often meant food businesses defaulted to plastics, styrofoam or foreign-made alternatives, either out of habit or lack of access. Babatunde saw the gap as a challenge that required building trust in local, manufacturing from the ground up.

Convincing the industry to change its habits wasn’t only about making eco-friendly packaging available, it was about addressing what he describes as “the mindset that only imported equals quality.” Local production meant controlling the supply chain, cutting down lead times, and responding to market needs more fluidly, but it also meant navigating the volatility of Nigeria’s raw material supply, inflation, and an underdeveloped industrial ecosystem.

One of the more critical challenges has been ensuring consistent access. Many food vendors operate on short timelines and tight budgets,  bulk importing wasn’t sustainable and easily accessible. In response, Babatunde introduced a walk-in retail model, a concept previously unseen in Nigeria’s packaging space. A year after opening its first store in Yaba Tejuosho, the model has helped reduce wait times and eliminated order minimums, providing small businesses with a level of flexibility previously reserved for larger enterprises.

Beyond the immediate business model, his work engages larger questions, What does it take to shift an entire sector’s sourcing behavior? What happens when local innovation starts to replace imported norms? By focusing on paper-based, biodegradable materials and sourcing entirely from within Nigeria, Babatunde is experimenting with answers, ones that link sustainability to self-reliance rather than sacrifice.

Environmental goals aside, his approach also touches on broader economic concerns. Manufacturing locally is an ecological decision,  and industrial one. By insisting on Nigerian-made materials and processes, his company creates downstream opportunities in a sector that often looks outward for solutions. It’s an argument for internal capacity-building, played out in a market that hasn’t always made that argument easy.

Even with growing adoption, resistance remains. Education is still a large part of the work helping food businesses understand why change matters, and how to make the transition affordably. His team spends significant time explaining options, guiding choices, and offering alternatives that feel less like compromises and more like upgrades. “At Careyout Packaging, we believe sustainability should be simple, affordable, and proudly local — that’s why we make it possible,” he notes, emphasizing that awareness and accessibility are as important as product availability.

The company’s expansion into nine cities reflects this layered strategy, build trust, then build presence. While others focus on volume or exports, Babatunde has concentrated on reach,  ensuring that the same options available to a premium restaurant in Lagos are also available to a roadside food vendor in Kano or a caterer in Port Harcourt.

At its core, his work is less about packaging and more about solving logistical and perceptual hurdles in a sector that has operated without viable alternatives for too long. The effort is methodical, driven by necessity rather than narrative. And in an industry slow to change, that steady, challenge-first approach may prove to be its most transformative force.