Tetra Pak goes after the 'Kadogo' economy

BY PATRICK GITHINJI

Food packaging manufacturer, Tetra Pak East Africa, has completed a Sh300 million upgrade of its factory, as it moves in on the Kadogo economy to maximise its business potential.

"Global trends are now gravitating towards the bottom and lower middle tier of the social pyramid, hence the need to become more innovative in our business model to meet the consumer needs," the firm’s Managing Director Anders Lindgren said during an innovation seminar in Nairobi.

The firm is hosting a customer innovations week, where players in the dairy and juice processing industry meet to share the recent technologies and expertise used by the company.

"The changing demographics have necessitated the development of products that are appealing to younger consumers and are affordable for families."

Lindgren said that population and income growth in emerging markets of Africa and Asia, and new trends that have increased awareness, demand and consumption fueled the upgrade.

increased capacity

Lindgren also revealed that the upgrade has increased the firm’s capacity to produce more goods for export.

He said the firm would invest further in its infrastructure, so as to tap into the expanded region market following the operationalisation of the East African Common Market treaty.

Lindgren also defended Tetra Pak’s decision to import small packaging products from South Africa, saying the firm was saving a lot of money, which would be used to create employment.