With Power Oil, Consumers Have Made Better Dietary Choices Without Compromising Richness & Taste – Roland Akpe, Marketing Manager- Oils and Fats Portfolio, Tolarams Group
As Marketing Manager for the Oils & Fats Portfolio at Tolaram Group, Roland Akpe leads the commercial and brand strategy for Power Oil in Nigeria. His role involves keeping the brand at the top of the category, driving volume, and making sure it remains the preferred choice in millions of kitchens nationwide. From the huge level of success achieved in the last 10 years, it is obvious that Roland is a tough bird in his job. In this chat, he reveals how his team has framed Power Oil from a cooking oil brand into one of Nigeria’s most trusted health brands.
Roles and Activities in Building the Power Oil Brand
My work centres on three core pillars. Category Building & Moat Creation is one. This involves continually evolving Power Oil’s positioning as Nigeria’s trusted health brand. I lead a talented team to continually develop our Certified Healthy-Be Certified Fit platform. We have delivered over 3.5 million free heart health checks, funded life-saving surgeries, and built a 2,500-member fitness community across major cities and consumer touchpoints.
Under Trade Marketing & Route-to-Consumer, we unlock channels like retail and open markets, leading the team to focus on staying accessible, beating down-trading, and keeping our products moving fast off the shelves.
Under Cultural Equity & IMC Execution, we are continually connecting with consumers beyond traditional ads via digital as well as innovative and disruptive physical communication. By sponsoring major platforms like Access Bank Lagos City Marathon and MasterChef Nigeria, we turn everyday brand awareness into engagements that trigger and inspire real-life healthy choices as we drive sales in stores.
In all these, we champion the message of healthier living by promoting the benefits of cholesterol-free vegetable oil, helping Nigerians make better dietary choices without compromising on the taste and richness of local meals.
Why MasterChef Nigeria was picked as the right platform for Power Oil.
The Brand sees food, culture, entertainment, and participation as essential levers of consumer engagement. Headlining MasterChef Nigeria is one more avenue for the brand to inspire Nigerians. Through this partnership – The Certified MasterChef UGC and geotargeted sales conversion drive – the brand lands not just at the heart of home meal preparation, but new recipe creation, food inspiration, while enabling the next vista of passionate creators.
How does this sponsorship support Power Oil’s “Certified Healthy Confidence” positioning?
It reinforces the Brand’s ‘Healthy Cooking’ positioning. As consumers become more conscious of healthier food choices and cooking oil, Power Oil’s “Certified Healthy Confidence” platform aligns perfectly with a show that platforms elite competition demonstrated through advanced cooking techniques and ingredient choices.
What makes this partnership different from a traditional sponsorship?
It helped reach younger, digitally engaged audiences. It Moved Beyond Awareness to Consumer Participation. Unlike many sponsorships that stop at visibility and placement, Power Oil leveraged the platform to create a nationwide participation ecosystem through the Power Oil Certified MasterChef Challenge, encouraging consumers to cook, create content, vote, and engage with the brand directly.
How does Power Oil plan to inspire healthier cooking habits through MasterChef Nigeria?
Rather than simply talking about healthy eating, MasterChef Nigeria provides a platform to show contestants preparing delicious meals using healthier cooking techniques through recipe demonstrations and engaging storytelling.
Why is it important for Power Oil to be part of conversations around Nigerian food culture?
Power Oil has, since its inception, been a pioneer promoter of a healthy lifestyle. This has been the focus of our activities and conversations. Through them, the Brand has inspired millions of families to prioritise quality ingredients from trusted sources. In modern times, food has gone beyond the kitchen to our screens. This helps in driving social conversations, digital participations, and engagements.
How did the show celebrate local ingredients and regional cuisines while promoting healthier cooking?
MasterChef Nigeria celebrated the richness of Nigeria’s culinary heritage by spotlighting local ingredients, traditional recipes, and cooking techniques from across the country’s diverse cultures. Contestants demonstrated how traditional meals can be prepared using healthier cooking methods while preserving flavours they know and love. .
9. How would you describe its digital impact and consumer influence from impressions via social media?
For us, the digital impact went well beyond the numbers, though the huge numbers themselves tell a strong story. What was more important to the Brand was being able to leverage Headline Sponsorship of the show’s maiden season into a platform that gave the average Nigerian the means to show off their cooking skills and join the next generation of culinary influencers.
This helped drive participation across Nigeria, hence, inducing not just trial for the brand but attribution where it matters, ultimately connecting the brand to the craft of cooking rather than just seeing another ad.
How did retail activations and digital campaigns bring the MasterChef experience closer to consumers?
The retail and digital experiences were deliberately designed to bridge the gap between viewers, consumers, and the show. The best brands move consumers from spectators into active participants. The Brand’s execution was deliberately engineered not just to drive views, but to discover the next generation of culinary content creators by compelling consumers to take action.
What opportunities did this collaboration create for home cooks and aspiring chefs across Nigeria?
The Sponsorship, besides inspiring everyday Nigerians, was an opportunity to discover the next generation of culinary content creators. Thus, the Brand leveraged exceptionally through a football-themed UGC CTA, overlapping with the World Cup season. In 4 weeks, over 70 content creators participated, with votes reaching a cumulative 63,002.
How does Power Oil balance healthier cooking with the authentic taste Nigerians love?
Power Oil believes that healthier cooking should never come at the expense of the authentic taste Nigerians know and love. The Brand’s approach is rooted in the idea that healthy eating and great taste can coexist when proper cooking techniques and nutritious choices, enabled and inspired by Power Oil, come together.
What impact do you hope this partnership will have on Power Oil’s relationship with consumers?
Power Oil has always placed consumers first. Health outreaches, heart health awareness, and the one brand championing the celebration of World Heart Day for the last 10 years, heart surgery sponsorships.
The Brand’s sole objective is to foster and inspire healthy families to make the right choices for themselves as individuals and look out for themselves. We will continue to foster and inspire Nigerians to centre on well-being as part of their lifestyle. A Nigeria with certified healthy families is the goal. Individuals with certified fit lifestyles are the objective.
Looking ahead, how does this sponsorship fit into Power Oil’s long-term vision for shaping Nigeria’s food culture and healthier lifestyles?
Power Oil’s sponsorship is a strategic expression of the brand’s long-term vision to help shape a nation where healthier living and great Nigerian food culture go hand in hand. Beyond entertainment, the goal is to continue to lead the charge for heart-healthy families and a healthy nation, like we have been doing.
The strategic thrust for us is to continually spark meaningful conversations around healthy cooking, encouraging greater appreciation for quality ingredients, inspiring a fit lifestyle, and providing a platform for a new generation of home cooks and food creators. This we will continually do.