Tissue makers count losses as KEBS bans fake brands

BY PATRICK GITHINJI

Tissues and hygiene care manufacturer Chandaria Industries has decried that substandard products affected its last year revenues.

Speaking to The Standard a day after Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) banned two tissue paper brands, King Soft and Queen Soft, the manufacturer argued that these products had eaten into its market especially in Nairobi.

"These substandard products have contributed to loss of revenue and market share in Nairobi," Darshan Chandaria a director of Chandaria Industries said.

Although, he didn’t elaborate more on the loss, Chandaria said they take a big share of the market the company has built for years.

However, Chandaria called upon the Industrialisation Ministry and KEBS to continue eliminating such rogue players.

To remain competitive in the region, Chandaria added that they have been conducting market survey by buying competitors samples to establish if they comply with KEBS standards.

"We have also been listing distributors and retailers who sell these products so that our customers cannot be conned," he said.

The director further thanked KEBS and the ministry for their aggression and proactiveness to eliminate these players, but said they need to do more.

On Wednesday, KEBS market surveillance team detected the two brands in in Nairobi, Mombasa and Naivasha areas.

According to KEBS Managing Director Joseph Koskey, the products are bearing the KEBS Standardisation mark illegally.

"These brands are not in KEBS database as either manufactured locally or imported formally and therefore the Standardisation Mark on them is illegal," he said in a press statement to newsrooms.

Koskey further cautioned members of public against purchasing or stocking these products since they are substandard and illegally in the market.