Changing eating habits for the better with KOO

There’s a new cooking show on the block and it is filled with all the nostalgic goodness of KOO products. 

Many of us grew up on KOO baked Beans and, who can forget, the canned fruit was part of most jelly and custard desserts in our homes. 

Colour Your Plate with KOO, the latest edutainment reality competition show to launch on local screens this week, aims to start a healthy eating movement amongst South Africans, encouraging them to incorporate more balanced nutrition in their daily diets, all while on the lookout for the country’s newest cooking celebrity. 

“Being a truly South African brand we thought to ourselves this is not going to be about chefs. The key to what we do is about the consumer that buys and chooses our brands through it all. When our consumers talk about KOO, you feel it from the heart,” said Neo Dikamotse, Marketing Manager: KOO & Ingredients. 

She said concerns around obesity and South Africa having made the list of one of the most unhealthiest countries, the brand wanted to change things up.

“During the pandemic, people were trying to figure out how to eat healthier. The big lesson was the amount of canned products they had during that time. We made it our mission to teach them how to use the products better. It’s the little changes that one can make that can make the biggest difference in someone’s life.”

She said many people chose to always buy in bulk and the products sit around for special occasions when they can be used on a daily basis.

“We know moms have cans of beans sitting in the cupboard while they are a source of protein and fibre. We worked closely with nutritionist Arthur Ramoroka and he helped us unpack the benefits of these products. We developed a colour wheel that helps you understand what is good for you. We are just educating about the simple things that exist in their cupboards that they can use,” added Dikamotse.

Each week the show will feature five amateur chefs participating in a cook-off to produce a 10 course menu featuring a hero fruit or vegetable and representative of South Africa’s culinary heritage. 

The contestants’ healthy and balanced meals will be judged by award-winning local celebrity chef, Reuben Riffel, media personality and businesswoman, Basetsana Kumalo and KOO’s Nutritionist Arthur Ramoroka.

The winning chefs from each week’s show will go head-to-head in the finale, with one of them claiming the R50,000 prize to use towards their future career as South Africa’s newest chef.

On Wednesday October 6, 2021, KOO hosted a media event to launch the show. 

The event was hosted at the gorgeous Simbali Lodge in Pretoria. Guests were treated to a live performance from Ami Faku and a food exploration with KOO products. 

Colour Your Plate with KOO, a 13-part weekly series, airs Wednesdays on SABC 2 at 7.30pm with repeats every Tuesday morning at 10am.