Breakfast cereal maker Weetabix East Africa will upgrade its Nairobi factory for Sh200 million as it seeks approvals to export its products to European and US markets.
Weetabix East Africa CEO Dominic Kimani told the Business Daily that the upgrades, which started in April 2024 and would be concluded by the end of this year, are aimed at achieving the higher food safety and quality standards that are demanded of products entering the Western markets.
The European and American markets are currently served by the company’s UK parent Weetabix Limited, and a subsidiary in Canada.
In addition to the Kenya market, the Nairobi facility currently serves eight other regional markets including Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Sudan, Ethiopia, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Seychelles.
It also used to export products to China but ceased the shipments after Weetabix Limited exited that market.
“Part of the work is to help in terms of the global food safety initiative, through what we call the Food Safety Systems Certification (FSSC 22000), which is a global certification that will open up access to European and American markets,” said Mr Kimani.
“We are looking at the whole setup of the factory in terms of safety systems and processes. This includes decontamination before entry, making sure the factory is fully sealed to ensure no dust and insects can come in, and ensuring traceability of products and inputs.”
He added that the company has already achieved a number of ISO certification standards around food safety and quality, which allows the regional exports, but that it will need to get more to be allowed to ship products to the West.
The company is also installing an X-ray machine and metal detector at the Nairobi factory in the upgrade. It had in 2021 spent another Sh100 million to import machinery that allowed it to increase the number of favours on its breakfast cereal and biscuits.
Weetabix East Africa’s bid for US and European exports comes amid continued low uptake of breakfast cereal in the Eastern African region, which continues to lag other markets in consumption per capita.
Kenya, which is the biggest market for breakfast cereal in the region, has a consumption of about 70 grammes per person per year, lagging behind South Africa’s consumption rate of 2,000 grammes or two kilogrammes per person per year, and the UAE’s annual uptake of one kilogramme per person.
In Europe, the per capita cereal consumption in Ireland stands at eight kilos per year, and in the UK the average uptake is UK 7.5 kg.
In total, Kenyans consume about 3,500 tonnes of breakfast cereal per year, giving the local players in the industry an annual turnover of Sh2 billion per year.
