By Yinka Ajayi

“For a long time, healthy eating in Nigeria has been seen as either inconvenient, inaccessible or expensive,” says Ofure Adive, founder of VegExpress. “What we’ve done is reframe that making wellness both accessible and seamlessly integrated into everyday life.”

Adive, who founded VegExpress in 2013 as an online fresh fruit and vegetable retail business, has spent over a decade building what is now recognised as Nigeria’s first indigenous frozen fruit company. What began as a direct-to-consumer platform addressing gaps in access to fresh produce has since evolved into a full-scale food processing and distribution business focused on convenience-driven nutrition.

“We started with a simple goal to help people access quality fruits and vegetables without stress and all year long” she explains. “But over time, we realised the bigger opportunity was in reducing waste, extending shelf life, and creating products that fit into how people actually live.”

Today, VegExpress has served over 50,000 customers across Nigeria and processed more than 200 tonnes of fruits and vegetables into frozen and ready-to-use food products. Its range including frozen fruits, cold-pressed juices, smoothies, and fruit lollies has been stocked in over 80 retail stores nationwide over the past decade.

Industry observers point to the company’s hybrid model spanning retail, processing, and B2B partnerships as a key differentiator. Through its white-label juice solutions, VegExpress works with restaurants, cafés, and hotels to develop and supply premium beverages under their own branding.

“There’s a growing demand for healthier options, especially in hospitality,” Adive notes. “But not every business has the infrastructure to produce at that level. We step in to bridge that gap ensuring quality, consistency, and a premium experience.”

Beyond consumer access, VegExpress is also contributing to strengthening Nigeria’s agricultural value chain. The company has supported over 100 local farmers, aggregators, and suppliers, creating structured demand for fresh produce while helping to reduce post-harvest losses.

“A lot of what we do goes beyond the product,” she says. “It’s about building systems connecting farmers to markets, reducing waste, and creating value at every stage of the chain.”

That systems-driven approach has also translated into job creation. VegExpress has generated 25 direct jobs and more than 50 indirect jobs across sourcing, production, logistics, and retail distribution.

As Nigeria’s food industry continues to evolve, Adive believes the future lies in aligning health, convenience, and local production. “We’re building for a consumer that is more aware, more intentional, and more demanding about quality,” she says. “The opportunity is in meeting that demand with solutions that are both practical and scalable.”

The business, however, operates within a challenging infrastructure environment that continues to shape both its strategy and innovation pipeline. “One of the biggest realities we face is the inconsistency of power supply, the complexity of logistics, and limited access to cold storage across different parts of Nigeria,” Adive explains. “These factors don’t just affect businesses they significantly contribute to fresh food loss and limit how long nutritious food can be preserved at scale.”

She adds that these constraints have pushed VegExpress to think beyond traditional models. “We’ve had to innovate around our environment. While we continue to invest in cold chain solutions, we’re also exploring and developing products that are shelf-stable, nutritious, and accessible especially for consumers who may not have reliable electricity or refrigeration. The goal is to ensure that healthy food is not restricted to a segment of the population, but available to as many people as possible, regardless of infrastructure.”

With VegExpress continuing to expand its footprint across retail and hospitality, the company is positioning itself not just as a participant in the market, but as a driver of change reshaping how healthy food is produced, distributed, and consumed in Nigeria.

Looking ahead, Adive says the company is exploring opportunities to expand beyond Nigeria into the wider West African region, leveraging the country’s position as a major agricultural producer. “Nigeria has the capacity to feed not just itself, but the region,” she says. “Our long-term vision is to scale this model across West Africa; extending access to convenient, nutritious food while reducing the region’s dependence on imports. If we can build efficient systems around sourcing, processing, and distribution locally, we can unlock significant value not just for consumers, but for the entire agricultural ecosystem.”