Twitter was abuzz with stories about one of the largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies in Nigeria, NASCO group, on Tuesday. This comes after the federal government announced the signing of an MOU with the company, to commercially produce high nutrient biscuits for the National School Feeding Programme.

The announcement brought back memories to so many Nigerians who used most of their products especially the NASCO cornflakes. Nigerians can hardly talk about growing up in the country without mentioning NASCO cornflakes, which many students in Nigerian boarding schools enjoy till date.

Prior to the importation of cereal brands such as Kellogg’s, majority of Nigerians depended solely on this brand of cornflakes as their favorite ‘eat and go’ cereal. People only had the opportunity to taste Kellogg’s cornflakes when relatives or friends from the diaspora came into the country. Since its introduction into the market in 1985 it has undergone three life cycles and re-branding processes; the first in 2004, the second in 2008, then 2010 and the most recent in 2015.

Here are three reasons why Nigerians will always revere NASCO:

Nigeria’s indigenous cornflakes

The history of the company dates back to as far as 1963 when it was producing Jute bags for the Nigerian manufacturing sector, which was in full swing at that time. The cornflakes brand was launched in 1983 and introduced to the Nigerian market in 1985 but it remains the first indigenous cereal brand till date. In 2015, it won the endorsement of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN) “in respect of (all) the NASCO range of cornflakes as ready to eat. This endorsement is for a period of three years.

Affordability

Despite the entrant of Kellogg’s and other cornflakes brands into the Nigerian market, NASCO is still a preferred brand. This is due to the price of the cornflakes which, when compared to other brands, can be afforded by every Nigerian household. NASCO cornflakes brand is sold for N 600 while Kellogg is sold for N1,200.

Unique taste

NASCO cornflakes has a unique taste, which it still maintains till date. Despite re-branding its packs, it has left the taste unchanged and a lot of Nigerians can testify to this.