Visitors to the 2026 Lagos International Trade Fair got a taste of three new Dangote seasonings as NASCON Allied Industries Plc expanded its consumer foods range at the Dangote Group Special Day.
The products, Dangote Classic, Dangote Beef Seasoning and Dangote Chicken Seasoning, were unveiled at the 40th edition of the fair by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NASCON, Mrs. Aderemi Saka, alongside officials of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
The Dangote Group used the occasion to restate its commitment to local manufacturing, industrial self-reliance and stronger trade across Africa.
Saka described the launch as an important milestone in NASCON’s transformation into a more diversified food products company. “For over 50 years, NASCON Allied Industries Plc, also known as Dangote Salt, has been a leading salt refiner in Nigeria and a trusted name in Nigerian households,” she said.
She explained that the company entered the seasoning market in 2014 in response to changing consumer preferences and as part of efforts to grow beyond salt.
According to her, the reintroduction of Dangote Classic and the introduction of the beef and chicken variants reflect the company’s commitment to innovation, wider consumer choice and quality seasoning tailored to Nigerian tastes.
Saka added that NASCON will continue to develop products that enhance everyday cooking and deliver value to households across the country.
She called the trade fair an important platform for engaging consumers, distributors and business partners. Visitors to the Dangote stand were invited to taste the new seasonings.
Speaking at the event, which carried the theme “Trade, Growth and Global Connection”, the Group Executive Director, Commercial Operations, Dangote Industries Limited, Fatima Aliko-Dangote, congratulated the LCCI on organising the fair.
She described the theme as timely and said trade fairs go beyond buying and selling to become platforms for innovation, partnerships and economic opportunity.
She stressed that sustainable growth must be anchored on production, because manufacturing creates jobs, builds skills and turns raw materials into products of higher value. This conviction, she said, informed the Group’s strategic shift from trading to manufacturing.
Aliko-Dangote said Dangote Cement has an installed capacity of about 55 million tonnes per annum across Africa, while the Group’s investments in petroleum refining, fertiliser and other industries are helping to advance self-sufficiency and boost the continent’s capacity to export higher value products.
She also pointed to continuing investments in Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Namibia, where a $140 million tank farm near Walvis Bay is expected to strengthen the country’s position as a strategic Atlantic energy gateway.
Under its Vision 2030 growth agenda, she said, the Group plans to raise the capacity of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day, increase fertiliser production capacity to 12 million metric tonnes, and expand polypropylene production to support packaging, textiles, automotive, medical and construction industries.
Earlier, the President and Chairman of Council of the LCCI, Engr. Leye Kupoluyi, described Dangote Industries Limited as a benchmark for industrial audacity in Nigeria, citing its investments in cement, fertiliser, petroleum refining and consumer goods.
He said Nigeria was gradually moving from macroeconomic stabilisation towards prosperity driven by production, pointing to improvements in economic growth and external reserves.
He named the 650,000 barrels per day refinery and the Group’s other major manufacturing investments as examples of private sector initiatives that can reduce import dependence and strengthen domestic productive capacity.
Kupoluyi, however, urged the government to speed up efforts to address the structural problems facing manufacturers, particularly unreliable power supply, costly transport and logistics, and the need for predictable fiscal policies.
According to him, tackling these challenges would lower the cost of doing business, improve industrial competitiveness and make it easier to replicate large investments in other sectors of the economy.
