As a data analyst predicting Kenya’s food security, Wanjiru Mari spent her days crunching numbers, but her weekends told a different story. Between sips of office coffee, a question nagged at her: Why does Kenya, one of the world’s top coffee producers, export its best beans while locals drink low-quality brews?
That curiosity led her to coffee farms, where she studied every step of the value chain, from harvest to roast. What began as a side hustle—renting roastery space on weekends to experiment with flavour profiles— soon became Coffee Lab Nairobi, a specialty coffee brand on a mission to make Kenyans fall in love with their own coffee.
