In a bustling food market in Lagos, Nigeria, a customer inquires about the cost of a derica, a unit of measurement, from salesman Christopher Onyekwere. He responds by showing her a tin can, which once held 400 grams of tomato paste but is now worn and unreadable. The discontinued De Rica brand that once dominated the tomato paste market in Nigeria is the namesake for the term “derica,” which is still in use today even though the cans are no longer produced.
The origins of the term “derica” are unclear, but it seems to stem from the popularity of the De Rica tomato paste brand. The empty cans were once ubiquitous in southern Nigeria and became a substitute for measuring food items in markets. With De Rica no longer being produced, vendors use tins from other brands, still calling the unit of measurement a “derica.” Despite the name persisting, the market for the original De Rica tomato paste has shifted to other, more affordable brands.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/8/23/how-nigerians-reinvented-an-italian-tinned-tomato-brand?traffic_source=rss
