By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Some factories used for the destruction of returnable packaging materials, including glass bottles and plastic crates belonging to various beverage manufacturing companies, have been busted by officials of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in Anambra State.

The security operatives stormed these sites on Thursday in collaboration with the Beer Sectoral Group (BSG) of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (NPF).

The Executive Secretary of BSG, Ms Abiola Laseinde, described the act as criminal and a serious economic sabotage, noting that these assets remain the property of beverage companies that have invested heavily in these sustainable packaging materials to protect the environment.

She warned those involved in the act to desist, as offenders will be held liable and made to face the wrath of the law, as the organisation will continue to work with the police to crack down on illegal disposal, theft, and unauthorised recycling of its returnable packaging materials, notably returnable glass bottles and plastic crates.

Ms Laseinde noted that the owners of these factories were involved in destroying returnable packaging materials for reuse, thereby causing the businesses to lose millions of naira in investments.

She added that the group had engaged relevant security and regulatory authorities through formal petitions and intelligence-sharing, seeking lawful intervention to curb the illegal practices, recover company assets, and dismantle unauthorised recycling operations.

According to her, the group identified multiple locations in the South-East where they crush our bottles and crates for resale as raw materials, stressing that investigations had revealed that significant quantities were being diverted from legitimate channels into informal recycling networks.

The BSG scribe also disclosed that, in several instances, bottles were deliberately broken and crates were intentionally shredded for sale as raw materials, undermining the beverage companies’ circular packaging model.

“The recent raid is the outcome of sustained engagements and intelligence-led investigations, and represents a decisive step by authorities to protect legitimate business operations, uphold environmental standards, and deter further illegal activity,” she said.

Ms Laseinde pointed out that, beyond the asset loss, the activities of these individuals pose significant risks to businesses, including supply chain disruptions, increased operational costs, environmental risks arising from unsafe recycling practices and threats to public safety.

“These Returnable Packaging Materials (RPMs) are company-owned assets designed for multiple reuse cycles and form a critical part of their sustainability, cost-efficiency, and product quality systems. It’s a criminal activity to destroy them,” she stated, urging the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity of this nature to the police or call the consumer care lines of the beverage companies.

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

One of the leading global brands, Unilever, has sealed a five-year deal with Google Cloud for the deployment of technology, especially Artificial Intelligence (AI) to drive growth and desirability for its brand portfolios like Dove, Vaseline and Hellmann’s.

Business Post reports that the collaboration will focus on three core pillars of agentic commerce and marketing intelligence, an integrated data and cloud foundation, and advanced AI.

According to a statement, both parties will collaborate to build next-generation marketing capabilities across brand discovery, conversion and measurement to ensure that Unilever remains at the forefront of shifts in technology and consumer habits.

In addition, Unilever will transition key enterprise applications and data platforms to Google Cloud, creating a connected environment for scalable AI deployment across the value chain.

Also, this partnership will fast-track Unilever’s adoption of pioneering technologies, combining Unilever’s deep expertise with Google’s AI capabilities to sustain Unilever’s long-term competitive edge within the CPG market.

The Chief Supply Chain and Operations Officer at Unilever, Willem Uijen, said, “Technology has moved to the core of value creation at Unilever. As brands are increasingly discovered and chosen in environments shaped by AI, we must lead this shift.

“This collaboration with Google Cloud sets a new level in how technology can power commerce and growth in the fast-moving consumer goods industry, ensuring Unilever is agile, fit for the future, and equipped to unlock value at every level of the company.”

Also commenting, the EMEA president for Google Cloud, Tara Brady, said, “In partnering with Unilever as it boldly reimagines its business processes, we are not just modernizing legacy systems; we are deploying our advanced models, such as Gemini, to create a system of intelligence that reasons, learns, and acts. This will set a new standard for agility and consumer engagement in the CPG sector.”

It was gathered that Unilever would use Google Cloud’s technologies, such as its enterprise AI platform, Vertex AI, to build new capabilities in brand discovery, measurement and AI-augmented marketing. This will create a new model for how consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands are discovered and shopped, as consumer journeys shift toward more conversational and agentic experiences.

By migrating its integrated data and cloud platform to Google Cloud, Unilever will build an enterprise-wide, AI-first digital backbone to generate demand faster, turn data into actionable insights, and respond to market shifts with greater agility. This foundation will also support the development of agentic workflows—intelligent systems capable of executing complex tasks across Unilever’s business processes.

As Nigeria’s consumer economy transitions from resilience to renewed growth, Jumia is positioning itself at the centre of this evolution with a clear ambition captured in its emerging ethos, “Just Jumia It.” The company is advancing a bold vision to redefine retail in Nigeria, signalling a shift toward expansion, accessibility, and digital acceleration as macroeconomic conditions stabilise and consumer confidence strengthens.

Through sustained investment in technology, logistics, and customer experience, Jumia is building a scalable digital marketplace designed to make shopping more accessible, reliable, and convenient for millions of Nigerians. The company’s latest performance underscores this trajectory, with strong year-on-year growth in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) and order volumes reflecting increasing adoption across the country.

Temidayo Ojo, Chief Executive Officer of Jumia Nigeria, emphasised that the company sees this moment not as a recovery phase, but as the start of long-term behavioural change. “We’re seeing confidence return, and confidence translates into spending,” he said. “More importantly, it translates into habit. Our focus is on making e-commerce a normal, trusted part of everyday living.”

Operational efficiencies and infrastructure expansion remain central to this ambition. Continued investments in fulfilment centres, last-mile delivery networks, and digital tools are enabling faster deliveries, improved pricing transparency, and broader national reach, while creating economic opportunities for SMEs, logistics partners, and sales agents across the ecosystem.

At the same time, Jumia is strengthening local engagement through initiatives such as community-based sales networks that connect online commerce with offline consumers, helping bridge access gaps and build trust in digital transactions. This locally grounded approach, combined with global governance standards from parent company Jumia Technologies AG, ensures the platform is both globally aligned and locally relevant.

With its strategy anchored on accessibility, infrastructure, and customer-centric innovation, Jumia aims to transform itself from an online marketplace into an everyday retail destination—making digital commerce an intuitive, habitual choice for Nigerian consumers and a catalyst for inclusive economic growth.