By popular demand, following the resounding success of the maiden season of Nigeria’s most prestigious docu-reality cooking contest to reward and celebrate the best of Nigeria’s foodpreneurs and cuisine, Maxima media, owners of Food bay TV have unveiled season 2 of Street Food Naija.
Organised in partnership with Devon Kings, the winner of the contest dubbed King of Street Food, will go home with a sum of N5 million worth of prizes. The docu-reality series is about street food or on-the-go food in Nigeria from the perspective of hope, inspiration, and empowerment with a focus on meals served on the streets of Nigeria. Featuring street foodpreneurs that will have to compete for a grand prize, 13 passionate foodpreneurs across Nigeria will be vying for this season.
While the winner in the maiden edition won N1 million, and the first runner-up got N500, 000, this year’s edition bumper prize of N5 million is to encourage winners achieve better results. Launched in 2019, Street Foodz Naija is aimed at promoting local cuisine, as well as supporting entrepreneurs in the food sector and rebranding street foods. Just like the maiden edition, the 30 minutes televised and digitally transmitted docu-reality series will showcase the best of Nigeria’s street food delicacies.
Oluwafemi Ogundoro, Managing Director of Maxima media said Street Foodz Naija has always been digitally driven. According to him, participation into the competition can be done seamlessly online without the need for external involvement or direct contact, in line with the new normal brought about by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Ogundoro disclosed that 13 contestants will be selected across Nigeria, just as the reward system for the season two was reviewed upward. According to him, the winner will get N5m worth of prizes of which N2.5 million naira is in cash; a renovated work space, an SME toolkit, and scholarship to a Culinary School.
“The second runner up will walk away with N2m worth of prizes: N1m, renovated work space and SME Toolkit and the 3rd runner up will N500, 000 cash, renovated work space and SME Toolkit.
In view of the current economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic, Devon King’s is leveraging the Street Foodz Naija platform to support street food vendors in Nigeria. It is the brand’s way of giving hope and creating a future for players in the sector. This was made known by Chioma Mbanugo, the Marketing Manager, PZ Wilmar Ltd who added that the company’s partnership with Street Foodz Naija is Devon King’s way of impacting lives. According to her, the brand will not stop with the campaign in its drive to support street food-preneurs that prepare on-the-go dish for consumers.
Mbanugo further revealed that as part of incentive for participants and winners, outlets of vendors will be given a face lift to support their business branding in giving more visibility and engagement with street food in Nigeria.
Brand Manager, Devons Kings, Oluwatoyin Popoola-Dania corroborated Mabnugo’s position when she added, “We see this platform as a way of reaching people, empowering them. We are engaging them on the need to repackage and reposition their products to the consumers.”
She continued: “It’s not just about the cash, there is going to be a renovated work place and everything including the SMEs package, renovated workplace, the training is what is coming for the N5 million for the winner and the first and second runner-up will also be having their own packages. So, we feel all these will benefit the foodpreneurs and, beyond the cash, the visibility they also get, the brand recognition will make other brands see them and feel they can do something with them and help them grow as well.”
Providing more insight on the first season Ogundoro explained: “Season 2 is bigger and better than what we experienced in the first season and it’s more empowering; what the winner would be getting is quite bigger. Season one was just N1 million for the winner, but we are doing N5 million for season 2. Money is not the only thing these guys need; they need coaching, which they will get from our judges. They need their spaces to be renovated because of hygiene, they also need SME support and they would also be getting, which comprises of doing logo for their brands, shooting video for them to promote their businesses on social media and on TV. So, we have a channel on Startime, Views Channel, where we will be promoting their businesses for six weeks; they are getting more.”
On modality for picking contestants, he said, “if a contestant is good enough, which means, you are able to show us your food has taste, you are popular, and in terms of hygiene, the food is there, then we will be able to get you. The pick is based on merit and not man knows man. If an interested person is good, even if he or she is in Maiduguri, he will be selected as long as they met the criteria.
“People are skeptical about street foods, but what we did in season one made people see the good in it.”
He continued: “Because it’s a docu-reality series, they will only come together when there is a need to do so. And when they come to compete, it will be done in an open-air space. There was no COVID-19 in season one, but they were spaced so, in season two, they will be properly spaced and we will observe all the NCDC guidelines,” he assured.