Del Monte Kenya at 60: A Legacy of Growth, Excellence and Empowerment

By Stavros Constantinou

For six decades, Del Monte Kenya has championed innovation, partnership, and sustainability, helping the company to grow into one of the country’s largest employers and exporters. Its contributions have created sustainable livelihoods for tens of thousands of families and driven significant social and economic impact across Kenya.

From its beginnings as a modest fruit-canning operation in 1965, Del Monte Kenya made a pivotal decision to invest in its own pineapple plantations. This strategic move gave the company greater control over product quality and supply, enabling it to expand its footprint globally. 

Another key driver of the company’s success is it’s commitment to deploying cutting-edge technologies across the entire pineapple value chain.

These innovations have boosted efficiency, minimized waste, and ensured delivery of high-quality agro-industrial products. They have also strengthened their supply chain and formed strategic partnerships to ensure consistent quality and availability of their products - initiatives that have cemented the company’s position as a leading producer, marketer, and distributor of fresh fruit and prepared foods across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

In keeping with its commitment to innovation, Del Monte Kenya enhances its operational efficiency through technology-driven solutions, such as precision farming and automated processing.

Its latest innovation is a first-of-its-kind biofertilizer plant that converts pineapple byproducts into four types of sustainable biofertilizers for its use and eventual sale to other growers in East Africa.

This initiative showcases the company’s transition to a circular economy, where crop residues are repurposed to reduce waste and promote sustainable agriculture.

Moreover, Del Monte Kenya is dedicated to minimizing waste throughout its supply chain. The company implements sustainable practices, such as compressing waste tetra packs and baling waste tin cans for recycling.

They also recycle plastic crates used for transportation and reuses drum packaging materials. These efforts not only help the company save costs but also contribute to reducing environmental pollution while bolstering the local community through innovation and employment opportunities.

This commitment and continuous investment in sustainability across all its operations has not gone unnoticed. In June 2025, Del Monte Kenya officially joined the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative.

As a member of this prestigious network, the company joined over 23,000 businesses and 4,000 non-business participants committed to building a more sustainable, inclusive, and responsible future.

Beyond the economic impact, Del Monte Kenya continues to prioritize its people. Del Monte Kenya directly employs over 7,700 workers and supports an additional 28,000 jobs through its supply chain, impacting more than 35,000 livelihoods in Murang’a and Kiambu counties alone.

The company transitioned its employee transportation services to a fully electric bus fleet in June 2025, a move that not only supports environmental goals but also enhances employee well-being by offering a modern, reliable, and eco-friendly commute.

This deliberate people-centric strategy has built a more inclusive, equitable workplace that prioritizes the well-being, growth, and engagement of its employees.

Further, Del Monte Kenya is not just driven by profits but by purpose. This is evident in the heavy investments in the surrounding communities where it operates.

From health and education projects to skills development programmes and sports activity sponsorships, the company empowers people and creates lasting value.

The commitment to inclusive and equitable quality education for example, has seen Del Monte Kenya support more than 12,000 students access education over the last ten years.

In addition, the company actively supports environmental groups, local farmers, community organizations, and water conservation initiatives.

Demonstrating the company’s long-standing commitment to environmental conservation, community development and climate resilience, Del Monte Kenya’s has planted over 45,000 indigenous trees and preserved 275 hectares of wetlands. These efforts reinforce its dedication to protect and preserve the environment for future generations.

These are just examples of the strong foundation that Del Monte Kenya has laid, and which has fueled the company’s long-term growth over the last six decades, transforming the company into a leading player in the agriculture sector and a significant contributor to Kenya’s economic development and global competitiveness.

As Del Monte Kenya looks to the future, it aims is to soar as a globally renowned pineapple producer, marketer, and distributor focused on sustainable growth, agribusiness innovation and deepened contribution to Kenya’s development. This success will be firmly anchored on this solid foundation over the next 60 years and beyond.

The writer is the Finance Director of Del Monte Kenya Limited.