Rite Foods, Nigeria’s leading company in the food and beverage sector, has called for the involvement of women in technological advancement in the country as their contribution would help bridge gender inequality and inclusiveness desired for a progressive nation.

The Managing Director of Rite Foods, Mr. Seleem Adegunwa, made this assertion while marking this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) with the theme “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality,” urging corporate and public organisations to take gender equality as a topmost priority as the gap in digital access would keep women from unlocking technology’s full potential.

Celebrated on March 8 every year, IWD was adopted by the United Nations in 1975 to spread the message of gender equality to create a better society free of gender bias. It addresses issues such as women’s equal rights, violence and abuse against women, and reproductive rights.

Given that, the World-class and Proudly-Nigerian company which has been at the forefront of inventiveness in its industry with the award-winning 13 Bigi carbonated soft drink variants and Table Water, premium Fearless energy drink brands, consisting of the Classic and Red Berry products, the Sosa fruit drink, as well as Rite Sausages, has imbibed the culture of women inclusiveness in its operations through the various positions held by them.

In furtherance of that, Adegunwa affirmed that women, having acted as great mothers at home with exceptional qualities, would do well if given equal chance like their male counterparts, in the digital transformation process that is experienced in various sectors of the economy, especially in the technological development of the nation.

According to him, Rite Foods with its state-of-the-art infrastructure and artificial intelligence in a first-rate factory has women working in all units, with the innovation required for the production of unparalleled brands that have dictated the pace in the food and beverage sector, surpassing competitors.

On her part, the company’s Assistant Brand Manager, Boluwatife Adedugbe, avowed that Rite Foods is a great workplace for women with creativity and greater opportunities for a better future.

Rite Foods’ unique brands with their refreshing flavours have won numerous laurels in the industry, as its Bigi Cola in 2022, won “The Fastest Growing Cola Brand of the Year” at the Marketing Edge Brands and Advertising Excellence Awards held in Lagos. Bigi also clinched the “Most Outstanding CSD Brand of the Year” at the Brandcom 2021 Awards, for its market leadership position in the beverage industry, surpassing its competitors in that category.

The Fearless energy drink won the “Most Outstanding Energy Drink Brand of the Year,” at the 2021 Brandcom Awards, because of its inventiveness with the first-ever packaged polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle.

Its nutritious Bigi and Rite sausages emerged as “The Fastest Growing Sausage Brand of the Year” at the Marketing Edge Brands and Advertising Excellence Awards held in Lagos in 2022. The brands also won the 2022 ECOWAS Sausage Roll Snack Manufacturing Company of the Year at the ECOWAS Manufacturing Excellence Award powered by BusinessDay Newspapers (Ghana], and Daily Independent Newspapers in Nigeria.