Ephraim Chademana’s Popular Fresh Loaf Bakery in Mt Darwin was thriving, with a steady stream of customers buying freshly baked loaves every day. However, Ephraim felt a sense of unfulfillment, knowing his business had untapped potential. He yearned to expand his product range, creating something not just new, but meaningful – a product that would nourish his community. The challenge was identifying what that product could be.

Everything changed when Ephraim attended an outreach meeting with HarvestPlus, where he learned about biofortified crops. “It was the first time I had heard of crops being bred not just for yield, but for nutrition,” he said. “What really caught my attention was the potential of vitamin A orange sweet potatoes, and the idea of blending them with flour to bake bread.”

Inspired by this new possibility, Chademana participated in a customized training on product development for nutritious foods using biofortified ingredients, offered by HarvestPlus. The training provided personalized support, guiding each processor through the process of transforming product concepts into commercially viable offerings and launching them successfully into the market. To date, 12 food processors, mostly SMEs, have benefited from this program, and all have successfully launched their biofortified products.

Ephraim wasted no time, and by April 2025, he had baked his first 200 loaves of vitamin A orange sweet potato bread for a market-testing trial. The response was overwhelming ― every loaf sold out quickly. “I never imagined sweet potatoes could make such soft, tasty bread,” Ephraim said, still beaming with pride. “And now, it’s our best-seller.”

What made the bread particularly appealing was its affordability ― it was priced the same as regular bread, making it a healthier option accessible to everyone. This resonated especially with mothers and caregivers in the community. “My children love it, and as a parent, I am happy knowing they’re eating something nutritious,” said Agnes Muchengeti, a mother of three and a loyal customer of Popular Bakery. 

The bakery is serving the community in multiple ways. By partnering with local sweet potato farmers, it has created a reliable market for their vitamin A orange sweet potato roots. Rangarirai Cheza, one of the farmers, recalls struggling to find buyers before the bakery’s demand. “I used to have trouble selling all my sweet potatoes,” Cheza said. “Now I have a steady buyer, and I am looking forward to earning more.”

The bread’s success is poised to have a broader impact, opening up new markets for local farmers, increasing incomes, and sparking interest in biofortified crops across the district. Meanwhile, HarvestPlus continues to support the bakery, providing guidance on packaging, labeling, and marketing to ensure the bread’s continued success.

For Ephraim, the journey is just getting started. His next goal is to boost baking capacity and make the bread accessible to more households across Mt Darwin. He hopes his story will inspire other bakeries to follow suit, spreading better nutrition, driving local agriculture, and uplifting communities. “This is just the beginning,” he says with quiet determination. “We’re baking more than bread – we’re baking a better future.”