We conducted a desk review between May and July 2024 to map existing evidence on the supply and demand for CPCFs in West Africa. For this study, CPCFs were defined as packaged foods marketed for children 6–36 months of age, with or without fortification. The review covered cereals and porridges, purees, dairy products, snacks/finger foods, and beverages; home fortification products (e.g., micronutrient powders, small-quantity lipid-based nutrients supplements) were excluded.

A tailored search strategy combined keywords related to complementary feeding, fortification, commercial food markets, and West Africa. Due to the limited example of studies in West Africa, experiences in similar environments in other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia were also considered. Peer-reviewed literature was searched in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, while Global Health and OpenAIRE were used for gray literature. Reports from World Food Program (WFP), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) were also sourced directly. All documents identified through database searches and gray-literature sourcing were screened in two steps: first by title and abstract to remove studies not meeting inclusion criteria (West Africa focus, 2010 onward, English/French, directly related to production, regulation, marketing, and consumption of fortified complementary foods), followed by a full-text review of remaining documents. Reference lists were also scanned to capture additional relevant sources. For all included documents, data was extracted using a standardized form capturing publication details including information on author(s), year of publication, study objectives, methodology, key findings, and relevant conclusion. Extracted information was then organized in a structured matrix to ensure consistency and comparability across sources. In total, over 120 documents were screened, and data were extracted on consumer demand, production capacity, supply chains, costs, regulations, investment needs, and export potential.

Importantly, the literature review was not only a source of background evidence but also directly shaped the qualitative study protocol. Findings were used to identify key knowledge gaps and to guide the purposive selection of respondents, in close collaboration between HKI and WFP. Five priority domains were identified: (1) production capacity and workforce, (2) supply chain and raw material sourcing, (3) regulatory environment and compliance, (4) financial barriers and investment needs, and (5) sustainability of CPCF business models.

These gaps were explicitly translated into focus areas for the qualitative study. For example:

Thus, the review provided the scaffolding for the qualitative protocol, ensuring that the study addressed regionally relevant and policy-actionable gaps while avoiding duplication of existing evidence. While the review also examined consumer demand, the qualitative work focused primarily on production-side perspectives. This focus allowed more in-depth exploration of CPCF supply-side dynamics within the study’s time and resource constraints and also aligns closely with broader efforts to strengthen local production and market systems that ensure young children have access to nutritious, safe, and affordable foods. By examining production-side perspectives, qualitative work provides critical insights into producer capabilities, constraints, and opportunities that inform policy and partnership aimed at building resilient and inclusive food systems.

Following the literature review, qualitative data were collected in Ghana, Niger, and Nigeria between October 2024 and January 2025. These three countries were selected because they reflect varied market and policy environments and insights from these countries can inform broader regional strategies to enhance access to fortified complementary foods. Participants included CPCF producers, regulators, representatives of financial institutions, and institutional buyers. The sample size was designed to capture diverse perspectives across three countries Ghana, Niger, and Nigeria selected for their contrasting market and policy environments relevant to fortified complementary foods. Producers were purposively sampled to ensure representation of small (<50 tons/month), medium (50–100 tons/month), and large (>100 tons/month) enterprises, while regulators, financial institutions, and institutional buyers were purposively sampled to reflect the full ecosystem shaping production and access to CPCFs.

Five focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with producer groups (two in Nigeria, two in Niger, and one in Ghana). Each country was expected to include one urban and one rural producer groups; however, in Ghana, the discussion was held only in an urban area due to the limited number of producers available to form a rural group. For individual interviews, producers of different sizes were purposively selected, with 6–7 individual interviews conducted in each country. Other stakeholders (regional representatives and national government officials from relevant regulatory bodies, representatives from financing institutions and investment bodies, and institutional buyers) at both the country and regional levels were identified in coordination with the World Food Program country offices and Helen Keller Intl, following the principle of selecting one key stakeholder per country when feasible. In total, 46 in-depth interviews (IDIs) were carried out: 24 with producers, 11 with regulators, 5 with representatives of financial institutions, and 6 with institutional buyers (e.g., NGOs, UN agencies; Table 1).

Discussion guides were developed in English and French, pretested, and adapted to local contexts. All FGDs and IDIs were audio-recorded with consent, transcribed verbatim using Stream Apps in Microsoft Teams, and manually formatted into Microsoft Word. Transcripts were coded thematically in QDA Miner Lite. A structured yet flexible coding approach was used to ensure analytic rigor. A preliminary codebook was developed based on deductive coding derived from the literature review and study objectives. This list was further refined through inductive coding as new themes emerge from the field data.

To ensure systematic data management, a standardized labeling system was applied across all transcripts. Labels captured the type of interview (FGD or IDI), respondent category (producer, regulator, financial institution, or institutional buyer), country, city, interviewer’s name, and interview date. To maintain confidentiality, all personal identifiers were removed during transcription and replaced with codes prior to analysis.

This activity was undertaken as programmatic monitoring/quality-improvement to inform complementary food supply and demand and was not designed as human-subjects research; therefore, submission to national research ethics committees in Ghana, Niger, and Nigeria was not sought. Prior to fieldwork, administrative authorization was obtained from the relevant administrative and health authorities as well as from participating stakeholders. All participants were adult professionals (CPCF producers, regulators, representatives of financial institutions, and institutional buyers) and provided written informed consent for participation, audio-recording image rights and the potential use of the results to advise policy makers, companies and international institutions on how to improve public health and nutrition programming for children aged 6–23 months. Participation was voluntary; individuals could decline or withdraw without consequence. Personal identifiers were not collected or were removed during transcription; transcripts were assigned study IDs and analyzed in de-identified form.

The literature review underscored wide disparities in CPCF consumption across West Africa. In Dakar, Senegal, nearly half of children 6–23 months consumed CPCFs in the previous 24 h (Feeley et al., 2016), compared to only 12% in Cameroon and 31% in Ghana (Khosravi et al., 2023; Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) et al., 2015). Consumption was consistently higher in urban areas than rural, where awareness, affordability, and availability remain limited. Caregivers’ decisions to purchase CPCF were strongly shaped by children’s preferences (“bliss factor”), convenience for busy mothers (in preparation, feeding and purchasing practices), and perceptions of health benefits. Affordability, perception of CPCF as unhealthy and lack of trust in local brands were key barriers, while the influence of family members was both a barrier and enabler (Hystra, 2014).

Production capacity among local enterprises was found to be low and underutilized (Olive et al., 2020; Dimaria et al., 2018; GAIN, 2014; IRD, GRET, and UNICEF, 2020). Although some firms had significant capacity, outdated equipment, weak infrastructure, and high costs for fortification premixes and packaging constrained their operations. Supply chain fragility emerged as a recurrent theme, with challenges in securing quality raw material such cereals, groundnuts, and premixes, compounded by aflatoxin contamination. High-quality packaging shortages and reliance on imports of packaging material drove up costs, while limited in-country laboratory capacity undermined consistent quality assurance.

Regulatory systems varied widely across countries, complicating both compliance and regional trade. Differences in standards, coupled with weak enforcement, led to market distortions and quality inconsistencies. Many SMEs lacked access to affordable local laboratory services, forcing them to seek costly international certification if targeting institutional buyers (Dimaria et al., 2018; Sanogo et al., 2024; Masters et al., 2011).

The review also flagged high production and distribution costs, limited access to finance, and weak investment climates as structural barriers. Opportunities for regional export exist but remain hampered by non-harmonized standards and regulatory fragmentation, although the ECOWAS Standards Harmonization Model (ECOSHAM) and the West African Accreditation System (WAAS) efforts hold promise for alignment (ECOWAS Commission, 2022).

The findings reinforce prior analyses that emphasize the importance of SMEs in African food systems and the barriers they face (Henson and Humphrey, 2015; Clark and Hobbs, 2018; Allen et al., 2011). Our results highlight how these challenges manifest differently across countries, yet follow a common pattern of regulatory hurdles, infrastructural constraints, and market frictions. In Ghana, producers’ accounts of prolonged certification mirror earlier studies on bureaucratic delays in food regulatory systems, underscoring how administrative inefficiencies continue to slow market entry for SMEs. In Niger, descriptions of obsolete equipment and manual sorting (“Sorting is still done by hand, and it is very slow”) reflect persistent technological gaps in Sahelian agro-processing sectors (Grace, 2015). In Nigeria, frustrations with regulators were evident, as illustrated by one producer who explained, “It’s like the police and the thief… they wait till they catch you in something wrong and then penalize you.” These experiences echo broader concerns about inconsistent and punitive enforcement practices.

Demand-side dynamics also align with prior research. In Ghana, mothers reported liking fortified complementary foods but being unable to purchase them regularly, highlighting affordability barriers. In Niger, entrenched traditions limited demand: “Families here know porridge, but they do not see why they should pay more for something in a package.” This reflects a consumer hesitation toward packaged foods, especially when traditional homemade options are considered adequate. In Nigeria, trust in imported brands prevailed: “Parents will buy the imported brand, because they trust it more.” These findings confirm earlier evidence that consumer trust, convenience, and perceived health benefits strongly shape complementary food uptake in West Africa (Bruyeron et al., 2010; Khosravi et al., 2023). From our perspective, increasing demand will require more than expanding product availability. It will also require targeted efforts to build consumer trust, improve product visibility, and communicate the value proposition in a manner that aligns with local preferences and cultural norms.

Our country-specific findings suggest differentiated policy entry points (Table 3):

By integrating producers’ voices—whether the Ghanaian SME who waited years for FDA approval, the Nigerien cooperative reliant on savings groups, or the Nigerian entrepreneur competing with imports—this study illustrates that scaling CPCFs requires more than technical fixes. It demands coordinated action to address systemic constraints, build consumer trust, and adapt interventions to national contexts. Locally produced CPCFs thus represent a “double-duty” solution: simultaneously addressing nutrient gaps during the complementary feeding period and strengthening SME-led food systems in West Africa.

This study has some limitations. First, it relied on qualitative interviews in three countries, and interviewer bias may have influenced the way questions were asked and how respondents understood them. To reduce this bias, we trained all the interviewers on neutral probing techniques. Second, while perspectives from multiple stakeholders were included, consumer perceptions were captured only indirectly by asking producers and buyers to share their thoughts regarding consumer perceptions. Future research should directly explore consumer preferences, ability and willingness to pay, and trust in CPCFs. Third, social desirability bias may have shaped responses, particularly among producers when responding to questions related to production challenges, compliance to norms and standards, or market demand. But training interviewers in neutral probing and indirect questioning, emphasizing confidentiality and anonymity during interviews may have contributed to limiting overly favorable reporting.

Priority recommendations for scaling fortified complementary foods in West Africa are summarized in Table 4, which highlights actionable steps for four key stakeholder groups. For local producers (SMEs), recommendations focus on strengthening supply-–demand linkages, modernizing equipment, improving packaging, and investing in consumer trust-building through education. Policymakers and regulators are urged to streamline certification processes, expand laboratory infrastructure, and advance regional harmonization of standards to enable trade and reduce bottlenecks. Financial institutions are encouraged to adapt loan products, expand community-based and Sharia-compliant financing, and introduce risk-sharing mechanisms that better align with the seasonal and high-risk nature of food processing. Finally, governments, donors and development partners are called to support demand generation, invest in cooperatives and infrastructure, and co-finance shared production units designed for collaborative use by multiple producer groups to reduce costs and strengthen SME capacity. Taken together, these recommendations illustrate the multi-actor, multi-country actions needed to overcome persistent barriers and unlock the potential of fortified complementary foods to improve child nutrition across the region.