East Africa Volume 6

MARKET Unga Limited is a seasoned brand in East Africa, with over 100 years of consistent service provision. The brand’s core focus is providing quality products for human nutrition with a specialisation in wheat, maize, millet and sorghum. The brand uses a varied approach in targeting its consumers depending on the product and the intended marketing communication. Despite operating in the FMCG industry in general, Unga Limited has split communication strategy for each of its brand; targeting different media touchpoints to interact with its consumers. Marketing communication is tiered to resonate with different audiences using the same messaging. The milling market is very cluttered with different players clamoring for the same audience. Unga Limited, is a market leader with its wheat and porridge brands. However, they have to fight for a share of the maize market due to in influx of smaller contenders. UNGA Limited is consumer driven and innovative at its core. They are committed as a business, to anticipate and keep meeting the changing needs and lifestyles of its consumers. The brand is always aware of the dynamic nature of the market and is constantly improving the quality of service beyond the product. Unga Limited endeavors to better its customer service and make the brand more accessible. ACHIEVEMENTS With an aggressive new product development processes, Unga Limited have a better speed-to- market for product launches. Unga Limited’s Porridge, Rice and Pulses have undergone packaging changes to not just make them more attractive but to also keep their products fresher longer. Unga Limited has invested heavily in the establishment of a new state-of-the art wheat mill in Eldoret. A 300-ton per day (grain) unit is scheduled to be commissioned soon and will allow them to better meet market demand, whilst producing higher quality flour more efficiently. Unga Limited has been a brand of firsts since its inception in 1908. The brand has introduced multiple products, as well as brand experiences into the market that have changed the nutritional capabilities of East African homes. The most recent addition to the broad range is Amana rice and pulses. The sub-brand has continously grown in market share since its introduction with new variants in the pulses category, taking the total Amana product count to seven. HISTORY UNGA Limited, a group operating company, is one of the oldest companies in Kenya. The company was registered on 28th December 1908, with the aim of serving the milling needs of the fledgling wheat growing industry that had established itself in the Rift Valley region. By the 1970s, UNGA Limited had become the largest grain miller in East Africa. UNGA Group Limited has been a publicly listed company in Kenya since 1956. Today, UNGA Group is headquartered in Nairobi and is the holding company for four operating companies – UNGA Limited (human nutrition) and UNGA Farm Care (EA) Limited (animal nutrition and health). UNGA Limited has mills in Eldoret and Nairobi; UNGA Farm Care (EA) Limited has manufacturing facilities in Nakuru and Nairobi. 114