Interview with Michel Lescanne, founder of Nutriset.
President and founder of the Nutriset Group and co-inventor of Plumpy’Nut, the first RUTF, Michel Lescanne has just published his memoirs with Eyrolles, with the help of journalist Christian Troubé. Here, he answers our questions.
Alain Boinet:
You’ve just published a book entitled “Mon combat contre la malnutrition” (“My fight against malnutrition”). When and why did you start this fight?
Michel Lescanne:
I founded Nutriset in 1986 on the basis of intuition and determination. As an agricultural engineer, I was convinced that the food industry had solutions to offer to help solve what was then known as “world hunger”. During my studies, I chose as the subject of my dissertation a study on the manufacture of a nutritious cookie for malnourished children in what was then known as the “Third World”. The skepticism of my university jury only strengthened my resolve to succeed. And then there’s my family background. In Normandy, my father ran a dairy cooperative, which later became the Nova Group. So, from childhood, I was immersed in this world. Very early on, reading the works of René Dumont and Josué de Castro helped me to deepen and enrich my objective: to feed these children in distress. It was immediately obvious to me that this would be achieved by setting up a company.
AB:
The early stages of any innovative project are often long and difficult before they succeed. What were the main stages in Nutriset’s development?
ML:
An entrepreneur’s journey is often made up of both successes and failures, from which you need to learn. At Nutriset, we had one compass: to put all our energy into designing products that could save the lives of malnourished children. And the only question we asked ourselves before making a decision was: is this going to help vulnerable populations? When you have a clear mandate, everything becomes clearer. What’s more, we weren’t acting alone, but in liaison with an ecosystem just as motivated as we were: the nutrition researchers who, in their labs, invented formulations, and the humanitarians who tested the products in the field and passed on their requests to us. It was a time of intense mobilization. This enabled us to design and scale up the first F-100 and F-75 high-energy milks, and then, in the mid-1990s, to offer the first ready-to-use therapeutic food in solid form, Plumpy’Nut. This first RUTF – and all the subsequent products targeting the various forms of malnutrition – was at the origin of a veritable revolution in the field: treatment was taken care of directly by the families affected, enabling an ever-increasing number of malnourished children to be helped. Step by step, Nutriset has been able to offer treatment and prevention solutions for children, pregnant and breast-feeding women, people suffering from illnesses such as AIDS, and products for the elderly suffering from malnutrition in France.
AB:
Some twenty years ago, you set up partnerships with local companies in a dozen countries. What was your idea back then? And what stage has this project reached?
ML:
Right from the start, we had the intuition that our products had to be manufactured as close as possible to where they were needed, in the very countries where malnutrition was rife. But there was nothing obvious about that. We had to find local agri-food companies capable of manufacturing our products to the required quality standards and ensuring the supply of raw materials. Many humanitarian organizations were skeptical about the issue. With time, we were able to move forward, using the franchise or subsidiary model. This year, we’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of the PlumpyField network. It’s a source of great pride for us: today, almost half of Nutriset’s nutritional solutions are manufactured locally. This has enabled international humanitarian organizations and the governments of these countries to open new programs and, consequently, to come to the aid of ever more children and vulnerable people. What’s more, these industrial structures are real levers of development for their countries, structuring upstream and downstream agricultural and agro-industrial sectors. The PlumpyField network is present in around ten countries, in Africa, South-East Asia and Haiti. It is set to expand further.
AB:
The world has changed a lot in the last 40 years. How do you see the fight against malnutrition today?
ML:
A great deal of progress has been made in this field over the past forty years, and Nutriset has been able to make a major contribution. Those involved in the fight against malnutrition – Unicef, the World Food Program, NGOs and local governments – now have access to easy-to-use products of recognized effectiveness. But what is sorely lacking is funding, and therefore political will. The figures are still terribly alarming! Malnutrition and its associated causes are responsible for one in two deaths among children under the age of five. If we take into account undernutrition, synonymous with wasting, stunted growth and underweight, micronutrient deficiencies affecting one child in two and one woman in three, overweight and obesity, the new scourge of our century, hundreds of millions of people are concerned! So we must not give up! The recent international Nutrition for Growth summit in Paris showed that it is possible to mobilize all players: public authorities, UN agencies, NGOs, foundations, governments and the private sector. Over 27 billion dollars were pledged to combat malnutrition. At the same time, however, we are receiving contradictory signals from the United States and other donor countries, with an incomprehensible drop in their Official Development Assistance.
AB:
Indeed, President Trump’s US administration recently cut the USAID agency and froze many programs and funding. Similarly, many countries are reducing their Official Development Assistance and humanitarian action. Does this have consequences for the Nutriset Group, your partners and anti-malnutrition programs, and how do you cope?
ML:
Our main buyers are Unicef and the World Food Programme, which are heavily affected by the US restrictions, as are the major international NGOs. Like all humanitarian actors, we observe the day-to-day fluctuations in the US administration’s decisions, notably through our American member of the PlumpyField network, the Edesia company. Like everyone else, we’ve taken note of this abrupt shift by the world’s leading lender, and the disastrous consequences it entails. With less money, we’re going to have to be imaginative and agile. For Nutriset, this means pursuing and expanding our localization policy, for example, by working with new players such as foundations, or by developing specific programs directly with governments. This is what we are doing, for example, in Benin and Côte d’Ivoire.
AB:
What advice would you give to a young person wanting to get involved today?
ML:
Every generation has its own approach to the world and its own way of looking at solutions. I can see that we are entering a world where risks are multiplying, from global warming to the new rules of the geopolitical game, but I remain unfailingly optimistic about human nature’s ability to transcend itself, to give the best of itself. I would say to a young person making a commitment today that, if they have a strong conviction, they must cultivate it and be faithful to it, even in moments of doubt.
AB:
How would you like to conclude this interview?
ML:
Your magazine has a beautiful title: “Humanitarian Challenges.” For forty years, I have had the good fortune to work alongside exceptional people in humanitarian agencies and NGOs. In a way, we have “grown up together.” I would therefore like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to all those who have brought this commitment to life and continue to do so today. At the beginning of my book, I recall the figure of Dr. Pascal Grellety-Bosviel, a Red Cross doctor in the 1980s, who inspired me greatly, along with so many others. I would like to salute all the humanitarian workers of the new generation and tell them not to give up! The fight continues!
My Fight Against Malnutrition, by Michel Lescanne, with Christian Troubé (Editions Eyrolles, $24)
Michel Lescanne:
“Your idea has no future, sir!” Despite having just submitted his final thesis, young agricultural engineer Michel Lescanne remained faithful to his dream: to develop products to combat world hunger. In the 1970s, with famines in Africa dominating the headlines, the challenge was immense. And the obstacles were numerous. Today, the Nutriset Group, which he founded in 1986, is present wherever malnutrition is rife, in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and even France, saving millions of children and adults. It is this remarkable journey that its founder recounts here.
Christian Troubé
A senior reporter specializing in international relations, Christian Troubé first became involved in humanitarian work in the early 1980s during the war in Lebanon. As a journalist, he went on to accompany various NGOs in numerous fields of action. He also served as a volunteer administrator for Action Against Hunger. Author of numerous books on humanitarian issues, he now puts his experience to work for the Nutriset Group, advising on its strategic communications.
Book review: “My Fight Against Malnutrition”
Faced with an alarming situation, “Today, one in four children under the age of five worldwide is malnourished, 165 million suffer from stunted growth, and 50 million are affected by acute malnutrition, which seriously jeopardizes their precarious existence,” Nutriset presents itself as a company specializing in the production of nutritional solutions, with a social mission to combat malnutrition.
Founded in 1986 in Normandy, it has gradually established itself as a key player in this cause on a global scale, combining innovation, scientific expertise, and humanitarian commitment.
A story to understand a struggle: the book My Fight Against Malnutrition
The book My Fight Against Malnutrition, written by Michel Lescanne, founder of Nutriset, and co-authored with journalist Christian Troubé, recounts the development of the company in fifteen chapters, while highlighting the major developments in the fight against malnutrition. This is not simply an entrepreneurial account, but a committed, innovative reflection on experience, providing valuable insight into international humanitarian dynamics. Nutriset’s expertise, as a key player in the sector, makes it a strategic tool for thinking about the challenges of tomorrow.
Raising awareness of malnutrition
It all began in the late 1980s. Michel Lescanne, the son of a dairy farmer in a Normandy cooperative, grew up immersed in the world of nutrition. From an early age, he developed a particular sensitivity to issues of access to food in humanitarian crisis situations.
At that time, child malnutrition was a silent emergency. Famines were addressed through emergency interventions that were often ill-suited to the realities on the ground. The famine in Ethiopia (1984-85), followed by the upheavals of the Rwandan genocide in 1994, highlighted the inadequacy of existing mechanisms. Therapeutic feeding remained underdeveloped, dependent on cumbersome hospital-based solutions that were difficult for the most vulnerable families to access in troubled situations.
It was in this context that, in 1993, Nutriset developed an innovation: F-75 and F-100 therapeutic milks, designed for the effective treatment of severe malnutrition in health centers. These products laid the foundations for Nutriset’s recognition in the humanitarian world.
This discovery presented many challenges for the company. The transition from an individual project in a house in Normandy to the creation of a sustainable structure involved recruiting a team, defining a clear mandate, and seeking funding.
Above all, the latter had to address a structural tension: reconciling economic imperatives with its social mission. How can a corporate status coexist with a non-profit commitment focused on products of public interest? To gain legitimacy, Nutriset must convince, forge alliances, and prove the effectiveness of its solutions. The first NGO partners, by testing the products in the field, such as Action Against Hunger in 1993 in Rwanda, actively participate in their continuous improvement.
Plumpy’Nut: an innovation that is transforming the fight against malnutrition
Since its creation, Nutriset has focused on research and innovation. The company relies on a network of scientists, nutritionists, doctors, NGOs, and laboratories to develop solutions adapted to the constraints of the field. It is within this framework that Plumpy’Nut emerged, a revolutionary Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) developed to address the limitations of therapeutic milks.
Plumpy’Nut is a ready-to-use peanut-based paste rich in calories, protein, and essential micronutrients. Stable and requiring no refrigeration, it can be administered at home without water, allowing families to participate in the healing process. This paradigm shift not only lightens the burden on medical facilities, but above all puts mothers back at the heart of the care process.
This innovation is supported by significant advocacy work with international organizations. Thanks to these efforts, Nutriset has become a partner of major United Nations agencies such as the WFP (World Food Programme) and UNICEF. These partnerships mark the institutionalization of the RUTF approach, which is becoming a global standard in the fight against severe acute malnutrition.
An international company facing contemporary challenges
In 2005, Nutriset initiated a change of scale with the creation of the PlumpyField network, which now has 11 members in several countries in the Global South. This franchise strategy enables decentralized production, closer to local needs, while promoting the autonomy of industrial partners and making a valuable contribution to the food sovereignty of the countries concerned. Today, one-third of Nutriset’s production is carried out by this network.
As part of a global response, Nutriset is also developing targeted product ranges, such as the 1000 Days program, which covers the nutritional needs of pregnant women until their children reach the age of two. These developments reflect an evolution in the socio-cultural approach to nutrition, integrating local dietary practices and family realities.
The company is part of a multi-stakeholder approach, bringing together the public and private sectors, NGOs, researchers, doctors, and nutritionists around a common goal: a coordinated fight against malnutrition, rooted in the dynamics on the ground. This transdisciplinary alliance makes it possible to adapt practices in response to successive crises (Rwanda, Syria, Sahel, etc.) and the latest scientific data.
Challenges for tomorrow: thinking about the future of humanitarian nutrition
Nutriset is part of a broader international movement, notably the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) launched in 2000, which aimed to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, and, since 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. Today, with the proliferation of crises and the evolution of humanitarian response, the issues are becoming more complex.
Michel Lescanne identifies several major challenges for the coming years:
- The proliferation of conflicts, requiring a transition from ad hoc aid to sustainable aid
- The increase in humanitarian needs, linked to political, economic, and climate crises
- The need for constant innovation, with products that respect people and the environment and are produced as close as possible to the areas of intervention
- Further reflection on products that place nutrition at the heart of health issues.
Nutriset intends to respond to these challenges by pursuing its mission: to put science at the service of the most vulnerable and to continue to make nutrition a fundamental right accessible to all.
My fight against malnutrition is not just the story of an entrepreneurial journey, it is a call to action. Through Michel Lescanne’s commitment and Nutriset’s trajectory, this book powerfully reminds us that innovation, combined with determination, can save millions of lives. Faced with a persistent scourge, it charts a demanding but necessary course: making nutrition accessible to all!
Esther de Montchalin
Other articles published on this topic in Défis Humanitaires:
When Nutriset engages in dialogue with humanitarian organizations.
Nutrition: interview with Claire Fehrenbach from the Nutriset Group.
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