Aid in Action

ESADA Member Launches Premier Line of Yogurt

“You don’t have to be big to think big”

Nairobi, Kenya  | Tuesday, July 08, 2008

 

Mrs. Lucy Karuga, managing director of Eldoville Farm located in Karen (Nairobi) recently announced the launch her new product line: Premier Choice yogurt, in June 2008. This premium line of yogurt is just the latest in Eldoville’s growing portfolio of dairy, vegetable, and fruit products for sale to institutions, the hospitality industry, and retail outlets.

Eldoville Farm is a woman-owned company that has concentrated on building a niche market for ready to cook and eat dairy and horticultural products in Kenya. They now have supply contracts with most major hotels in Kenya and are a key supplier of prepared side dishes for the National Airport Services, which supplies business and economy class food products to all the major airlines servicing Kenya. Having gone from marketing the cream from a single cow 20 years ago, Mrs. Karuga’s now employs 80 full-time workers and generates sales in the range of 7 million Kenyan shillings a month (over US$110,000).

Eldoville came to the Government of Kenya’s attention as a model integrated farming and processing operation, one that conforms to the highest quality control standards, including HAACP certification. Though Mrs. Karuga is very ambitious, she expanded her business only as rapidly as her ability to maintain control of production standards, never taking shortcuts. That approach has helped Eldoville’s dairy products consistently take home a number of top awards from the Eastern and Southern Africa Dairy Association’s (ESADA) annual cheese festivals and exhibitions that are held with RATES support.

“It’s hard work,” says Karuga, “You can’t overestimate it. “ But in adding value to all of the Farm’s products, she knows she embodies this truth of economic growth in her region: “You don’t have to be big to think big.” Her model of a fully integrated value chain is one she is increasingly called on to share, not just with fellow Kenyans, but with all of Africa. “I’m willing to work with technical advisors and donors to promote this idea of being small but having a big impact,” she says. “I can help a lot of women that way.”

ESADA provides specialized training opportunities for small and large dairy operations throughout the COMESA region. For more information on ESADA contact www.dairyafrica.com .