Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), in a report, has accused food and beverage companies of exploiting the 2025 Christmas and 2026 New Year celebrations to aggressively promote sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods.
The report, titled Unhealthy Food Hijack of Festive Periods in Nigeria, was presented during a press briefing in Lagos. It documents widespread marketing activities conducted between late November 2025 and early January 2026 across malls, parks, transport hubs, and digital platforms. According to the findings, these campaigns specifically targeted children by utilizing pester power and festive imagery.
Executive Director of CAPPA, Mr. Akinbode Oluwafemi, stated during the briefing that companies invested heavily in outdoor branding, market activations, and community donations to normalize the consumption of products high in sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats.
“The common thread was not festive imagery itself, but the strategic use of cultural and religious moments to normalise frequent consumption of products high in sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats. Messages consistently linked these products to togetherness, generosity, celebration, and even moral virtue, particularly within low-income communities,” Oluwafemi said.
The report criticized the use of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, arguing that product donations to schools and churches were often heavily branded advertisements framed as charity. CAPPA Industry Monitoring Officer, Humphrey Ukeaja, noted that children were particularly vulnerable to these tactics, which included the use of Santa characters, cartoon imagery, and free product samples.
Health experts cited in the report warned that such marketing practices contribute to the rising national cases of hypertension, diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. The document emphasized that low-income households bear the highest health and financial costs when diet-related illnesses emerge.
In its recommendations, CAPPA called on the government to increase the tax on sugar-sweetened beverages to at least 50 percent of the retail price, in line with World Health Organization guidelines. The organization also advocated for a total ban on marketing unhealthy foods to children and the implementation of mandatory front-of-pack warning labels.
Oluwafemi urged regulators to impose tougher penalties on companies that violate advertising rules and called for tighter controls on influencer marketing and digital promotional lotteries. He concluded that public health must be prioritized over corporate profit to prevent long-term suffering.
