An ice cream outlet in Nairobi. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA
Summary
- Kalon Kapital Limited has been picked to sell Häagen-Dazs ice creams targeting supermarkets, top hotels, cinemas and petrol stations.
- Häagen-Dazs has joined the growing list of global food brands that have moved into the Kenyan market, including US food chain Subway.
- They seek to cash in on a swelling middle class with growing disposable incomes and a taste for global brands.
Premium US ice cream maker Häagen-Dazs has opened shop in
Nairobi with its eye on the growing middle class, in a deal between the
New York-listed General Mills and a Kenyan company.
The
Kenyan distributor, Kalon Kapital Limited, has been picked to sell
Häagen-Dazs ice creams targeting supermarkets, top hotels, cinemas and
petrol stations.
Global food brands are increasingly entering the Kenyan market to take advantage of the growing middle class.
“With
the growing economy, we have more people in Kenya who have travelled
and tasted fine products and they now want to see the same products in
our market,” says Arjun Patel, managing partner at Kalon Kapital —
suppliers of premium frozen food, especially partially baked products in
France.
“The ice cream market here is vibrant and growing fast — we want to be part of that growth.”
Häagen-Dazs
has joined the growing list of global food brands that have moved into
the Kenyan market, including US food chain Subway.
They seek to cash in on a swelling middle class with growing disposable incomes and a taste for global brands.
Häagen-Dazs, which has more than 950 outlets in 80 countries,
will face local competition including from US rival Cold Stone Creamery —
which opened shop in Kenya in 2014.
“Häagen-Dazs reputation as a top ice cream brand should make it easier to grow and gain market share,” said Mr Patel.
Häagen-Dazs is the second top-selling Ice cream brand in the world behind Magnum, which is owned by Unilever.
It
is considered a higher-end star performer in the US for Nestle — which
has recently been selling some of its mass-market ice cream brands.
In
Kenya, it has started selling in Nairobi, Nanyuki, Diani and Watamu,
which are popular tourists’ resort towns, and plans to move to other
urban centres next year.
The
firm’s dairy-based ice cream comprises 45 flavours including Belgian
Chocolate, Salted Caramel and Macadamia Nut Brittle — which are shipped
ready-made from France through the Mombasa port to a cold room in
Industrial Area, Nairobi.
“Depending on market feedback, we might open Häagen-Dazs ice cream shops similar to those in Europe,” said Mr Patel.
In Africa, the standalone Häagen-Dazs outlets are found in South Africa.
No comments :
Post a Comment