1. Background

Micronutrient deficiencies, particularly iron deficiency, remain significant public health challenge among vulnerable population groups in Pakistan. Large-scale food fortification offers a proven, cost-effective, and scalable solution to address these deficiencies. Nutrition International has been supporting implementation of wheat flour fortification program in Pakistan since 2016. However, despite years of effort, the adoption of fortified wheat flour has been limited due to legislative challenges and low consumer awareness. 

Under the TechnoServe funded IGNITE project, Nutrition International (NI) is working towards enabling, celebrating and encouraging millers through the Millers for Nutrition (M4N) initiative. In line with the revised strategic objective of the program, there is a need for provision of business development support to owners of flour mills and chakkis for launching a fortified wheat flour brand and/ or strengthening their existing business proposition. The business development support will include development of guidance by the agency which would include establishment of sustainable linkages with institutional buyers, building strong brand identities, adoption of effective marketing strategies, etc., in order to launch a new and/ or strengthen the existing fortified wheat flour brand.  This support will enable fortified wheat flour producers to position their brands competitively in the market, enhance profitability, and expand sales channels by connecting with large retailers, institutional buyers, and philanthropic organizations, with an overall aim to promote increased production and availability at the industry and retail levels respectively. 

Therefore, NI seeks to hire the services of a specialized business development support agency to equip compliant flour mills and chakkis producing fortified wheat flour with improved business performance, strengthening their market presence and expanding sales of fortified wheat flour.

Nutrition International’s Role

NI will play a central role in guiding and supporting this assignment to ensure its alignment with the broader objectives of the Millers for Nutrition (M4N)/IGNITE project and the Large-Scale Food Fortification (LSFF) program in Pakistan. Specifically:

• Strategic Direction & Oversight: NI will provide technical and strategic guidance to the selected agency, ensuring that all activities — from brand identity development to B2B linkage facilitation — are consistent with the national food fortification agenda, industry realities, and donor priorities.

• Facilitation & Partnerships: NI will leverage its longstanding relationships with government bodies (including Food Authorities and Food Departments), industry associations such as the Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA), and development partners to facilitate collaboration and open doors for the agency’s interventions. This includes convening stakeholders where necessary to build consensus and encourage adoption of fortified wheat flour across supply chains.

• Technical Assurance: NI’s technical experts will review and validate the agency’s outputs — such as branding guidelines, marketing toolkits, and business case models — to ensure that fortification is accurately represented as both a public health imperative and a viable business opportunity. NI will also ensure that all outputs remain consistent with national fortification standards and global best practices.

• Industry Engagement & Field Support: NI’s provincial and field teams will work closely with flour mills and chakkis to encourage their participation in the initiative. NI will support the agency by identifying priority mills, facilitating introductions with potential B2B partners, and providing ground-level intelligence to adapt strategies to local contexts.

• Knowledge & Sustainability: NI will capture learnings from this assignment and integrate them into the broader LSFF program. This will ensure sustainability by embedding the tools, approaches, and models developed through the agency’s work into NI’s long-term support to government, industry, and partners.

Through these roles, NI will serve as both a technical custodian and enabling partner, ensuring that the agency’s interventions are practical, impactful, and contribute to a sustainable fortified wheat flour market in Pakistan.

2. Objectives of the assignment

The selected agency will be responsible for provision of business development support to compliant flour mills and chakkis producing fortified wheat flour. More specifically, the agency will: 

• Develop detailed guidance to capacitate approximately 100 out of 992 flour millers and chakki owners to develop a well-structured business proposition for launching a new or strengthening the market reach of their existing fortified wheat flour brands in the market; 

• Facilitateapproximately 50 linkages between producers of fortified wheat flour and large institutional buyers, retail chains, and philanthropic organizations, school meal programs encouraging the procurement and sale of fortified wheat flour benefiting both the consumers and the businesses; 

• Equip flour mills and chakkis with the skills and tools needed to create strong brand identities for fortified wheat flour; 

• Build their capacity to design and implement effective marketing strategies for their fortified wheat flour brands; and

• Provide hands-on guidance to millers and chakki owners through structured training sessions, where required.

3. Scope of Work

The detailed scope of work is listed as follows: 

The agency is responsible for developing a detailed protocol which covers the following components and organizing training of millers and chakki owners. 

1. Business development support 

• Development of business cases for fortified wheat flour as a profitable product; 

• Guide on pricing strategies that balance affordability and profitability; 

• Build miller’s/ chakki owner’s understanding of distribution models and how to expand reach through wholesale and retail networks; 

• Provide follow-up advisory for mills requiring help in adapting these strategies to their local business context.

2. Facilitate linkages with institutional buyers

• Support flour millers to identify potential buyers of fortified wheat flour, including:

• Retail chains, supermarkets, and wholesalers;

• School meal programs and institutional feeding schemes;

• Restaurants, caterers, and food service providers; 

• NGOs, philanthropists, and social sector organizations distributing cooked meals; 

• Help to organize B2B engagement sessions (dialogues, networking events, matchmaking meetings).

• Equip mills with the ability to:

• Pitch fortified flour effectively to large buyers.

• Draft and negotiate supply agreements.

• Build sustainable long-term commercial partnerships.

• Provide support to mills in navigating initial B2B deals.

3. Branding support

• Brand positioning and brand story with health/nutrition as the core value in general; 

• Guidance as per government’s requirement on use of fortified wheat flour logo, nutrition claims, nutritional information, labelling, and packaging, and visual elements that meet modern consumer expectations;

• Differentiate fortified wheat flour from non-fortified wheat flour in the market; 

• Encourage adoption of retail-friendly packaging formats (e.g., 5-10 kilogram bags) in addition to bulk sacks;

• Provide one-on-one advisory sessions to selected/ interested mills to refine and implement brand identities1;

4. Marketing strategy development

• Develop a marketing toolkit covering marketing strategy design and implementation, including: 

• Affordable marketing channels (in-store promotions, retail displays, digital presence, word-of-mouth campaigns); 

• How to communicate the health and nutrition benefits of fortified flour to consumers and buyers;

• Leveraging fortification as a unique selling proposition (USP); 

5. Organize training sessions for millers and chakki owners

• Conduct training workshops for miller/chakki representatives on the protocol; and

• Offer follow-up one-on-one mentoring sessions for mills needing deeper support1.

4. Deliverables

1. Inception report 

2. Detailed protocol on business development support provision to millers and chakki owners including linkages with institutional buyers, branding support, marketing strategy development

3. Training workshops on the protocol (1 in Balochistan, 2 in Sindh, 2 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 4 in Punjab) for millers and chakki owners

4. At least one B2B engagement events connecting mills with institutional buyers.

5. One-on-one / follow-up advisory sessions with selected group of mills / chakkis requiring further support1

5. Timeline: 6 months

6. Required Experience & Expertise

• Proven expertise in business development, branding, marketing, and B2B facilitation. 

• Prior experience working with FMCGs, SMEs, or food industry stakeholders.

• Demonstrated capacity to deliver trainings and hands-on advisory support.

• Strong understanding of retail markets and consumer behavior in Pakistan.

• Previous experience of working on and knowledge of fortification programs in Pakistan will be an added asset. 

7. Budget & Payment Schedule

• Total Budget: To be determined based on competitive bidding.

• Payments will be made in milestone-based installments upon successful completion of deliverables.

8. Proposal Submission Requirements

Interested agencies must submit:

1. Technical Proposal outlining strategy, work plan, and methodology.

2. Financial Proposal with a detailed cost breakdown.

3. Portfolio of Past Work (case studies, campaign reports, and client testimonials).

4. Company Profile with relevant experience and key personnel.

Deadline for Submission: Oct 01, 2025

Submission Email: [email protected]

9. Evaluation Criteria