Image
Letter from the Managing Director
Dear friend,
 
The numbers are compelling - the lack of essential nutrition in Asia is overwhelming. More than 60% of the world’s malnourished children live in Asia. More than 66% of the world’s children suffering from 3 wasting live in Asia. More than 500 million people in Asia have a daily calorie intake below a healthy baseline. These heartbreaking numbers can be found across many health markers in Asia.
 
While even one nutritious meal for someone in need has value, that one-time meal must become a daily reality for us to really see progress. There are many things needed to overcome the challenges created by systemic poverty – and one of them is regular access to healthy meals.
 
For me, the way forward is to join hands with local communities. Producer and consumer, farm to table - neighbors helping neighbors. In the face of this food crisis, we can find strength in collaboration, and strength in diversity.
 
Good food doesn’t just fuel the body, it fuels hope and enables positive transformation. I work from my heart. I am unfit for jobs where empathy is left at home. Going the extra mile, building communities, and reaching out to others in need – these values are at the very core of who I am and how I seek to live my life. I strive to bring these values into our workplace and partnerships.
 
Better nutrition is our way to make a better world – one meal at a time, one community at a time, one region at a time, until the numbers tell a better story!
Wessel Huisjes
Managing Director
Our Mission

Mekong Valley Foods collaborates with communities in crisis, purpose driven organizations and nutritional experts, to design and manufacture innovative, essential nutrition products that taste good and improve the lives of people suffering from malnutrition, growth stunting, wasting, and anemia.

Image
Image
Our Mission

Mekong Valley Foods collaborates with communities in crisis, purpose driven organizations and nutritional experts, to design and manufacture innovative, essential nutrition products that taste good and improve the lives of people suffering from malnutrition, growth stunting, wasting, and anemia.

Our Values
Regional Priority

We value locally sourced ingredients because we believe that neighbors helping neighbors is the best path to building empathy, compassion, and resilience.

Ready Access

We value social procurement and strategic inventory because it enables us to quickly scale our products to serve communities in chronic need or requiring emergency relief.

Strategic Partners

We value purpose-driven partners who ensure agency and dignity in the delivery of essential nutrition to communities affected by disaster, displacement, and chronic hunger.

Our Commitments

We believe that healthy, delicious food is an essential part of life for every human being. We believe that every person deserves access to food choices that are both nutritious and enjoyable. Considering these core beliefs, we make the following commitments:

1

We will not use images of people and communities affected by disaster, displacement, or chronic hunger to promote our products.

2

We will produce nutritious food products that not only meet the physical needs of undernourished communities but are also culturally relevant and are enjoyed by the people who eat them.

3

We will create variety in the food we produce to ensure that communities who are in crisis, displaced or chronically hungry have access to choices in the food they eat.

4

We will prioritize collaborating with purpose-driven partners who ensure that community members have agency to make food choices for themselves and their families.

5

 We will purchase our raw materials from verified sources that are exploitation free and provide a living wage to farmers and local producers.

6

 We will prioritize practices that reduce our impact on the environment through our business operations.

7

We will celebrate the professionalism and dedication of the farmers and producers who grow the raw ingredients we use to feed people affected by disaster and nutritional deficiency.

Image
Our Story

Mekong Valley Foods has been providing nutritious essential food choices for communities in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and beyond since 2010.

Before formal registration as Mekong Valley Foods, we undertook several projects in Southeast Asia focused on increasing food security in the region. These early initiatives included promoting nutritious crops, introducing sustainable technologies, and facilitating local community groups. The bulk of the work was done in northern Laos amongst several ethnic groups that were facing food security challenges due to their physical isolation and lack of access to general services.

In 2005, in collaboration with the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), a small food mill was established to manufacture food products for several WFP nutrition programs. First piloted in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic for two years, we moved to Thailand in 2012 to commence large-scale operation. The new factory had increased capacity, new machinery and food safety certifications and manufacturing certifications. Mekong Valley Foods is now an established, trusted, regional and global supplier of essential nutrition products.

Meet the team
Image

Puy

Office manager, procurement officer and Human Resource manager

Puy is the office manager, procurement officer and Human Resource manager for Mekong Valley Foods. She has a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from (need university). She keeps our office organized, operating smoothly, and ensures that our staff are well cared for.

Image

Nong

Production manager, mechanic, and electrician

Nong has extensive experience in electrical engineering and managing the mechanical demands of maintaining manufacturing equipment. We are continually grateful for his analytical and problem-solving skills that keep our factory operating at peak efficiency.

Image

Khuanta

Mixer operator and quality control officer

Khuanta is our mixer operator and quality control officer. His precision and consistency ensure that every product we produce meet exacting global standards, and those of the communities we serve and our partner organizations.

Image

Wessel Huisjes

Managing Director

Wessel has been living and working in Southeast Asia since 1993. His experience working in the international development sector and his professional training in agriculture provide the foundation of his experience and knowledge in the essential nutrition industry. He has numerous qualifications and certifications in international development, leadership, agricultural development, and rural development.
 
Through Wessels leadership Mekong Valley foods has achieved the HACCP, GMP, and HALAL food manufacturing certifications. Wessel speaks five languages, Dutch, English, German, Lao, and Thai.