Category: Featured Past Articles

Kenya’s growing importance as a global hub for trade explains why the nation has been experiencing the fastest rise in foreign direct investment in the continent.

Thrust on perishables exports According to a recent report, Kenya earned much more from flower and other perishable exports in the last three years than before. “The earnings from exports are slowly growing and a promise of a better future.

A number of multinational freight forwarders are acquiring Kenyan companies to tap into the lucrative perishables market. Recently, the world’s third largest logistics company, Japan’s Nippon Express, launched a subsidiary office in Kenya. Nippon Express has been making use of local agents for the export of home-grown (Kenyan) cut flowers and roses.

The firm announced that it will be putting in place a structure to meet the needs of customers in Kenya and the rest of East Africa, where sustained growth is expected.

Kenya’s cut-flower industry may be set to grow once again with direct flights opening in October to the United States. Kenya’s flower growers have been anticipating the direct flights for a few years now, according to Clement Tulezi., CEO Kenya Flower Council. Kenya’s cut-flower industry has blossomed since the 1980s, and now holds the biggest market share for exports to Europe. Kenya’s flower producers are hoping direct flights set to open between Nairobi and New York City could help them put down roots in a new market — the United States.

Kenya’s earnings from the United States horticulture market are set to rise to Sh10billion [98.6 million USD] on direct Nairobi to New York flights scheduled to start in October.

Kenya Flower Council chief executive Clement Tulezi said in an interview that the country is currently earning less than a billion from the US market.

Earnings from the horticulture sector hit Sh115 billion [1.1 billion USD] last year from Sh101 billion [996 million USD] announced in 2016. Companies licensed to export the flowers also increased to 386 from 356 in 2016.

Kenya’s flower industry is adopting high-quality standards to grow and consolidate its market share and ward off competition from emerging flower-growing countries in an increasingly competitive global market. The internationally and locally defined quality standards are geared towards creating the Kenyan flower brand.The standards include the Kenya Flower Council Silver standard which all exporters must comply to. The KS1758 standard for flowers and ornamentals is an additional quality control measure, “which means no one should be allowed to mess up the industry.”

The making of the Kenyan Flower brand means growers are now optimizing on available resources to get the best cut flower, and also taking advantage of global events such Valentines days – which accounts for almost 30 percent of all roses sold in a year. Flower farmers are also innovating around the efficient use of water which has saved growers from the biting drought in 2017 with sales estimated to close at over Sh71 billion up from Sh65 billion in 2016.

Kenya’s market share in the EU is expected to rise to 40 percent, consolidating its second position after Netherlands, while at the same time growing its market in the over 45 other countries it exports to. The prospects for 2018 look promising due to favorable weather and emerging new markets such as the Far East, Korea, Australia and Eastern Europe for Kenya’s cut flower product.

Building a brand marketing strategy doesn’t happen overnight. You have start somewhere. So what is the first step you should take in creating your marketing strategy? Where should you start?
The answer: brand positioning.

Overall, a brand strategy is a long-term plan for the growth and evolution of a public image in order to achieve specific goals. A well-defined brand strategy for any business should guide all aspects of it including consumer experiences, messaging, internal culture, and even positioning.

Think of it like giving driving directions.
Creating your brand strategy is like drawing out a map, and positioning is determining your location and destination (your goal). It is completely impossible to provide someone turn by turn guidance if you have no idea where they want to eventually end up and where they stand. Once you know this, you can then configure the best way to get there.

So, without further ado, let’s begin with the location, or brand positioning, in mind. If you haven’t already, selecting and developing a brand positioning strategy isn’t as hard as you might think.