“Keroche Breweries Limited started back in 1997 as a small family business. It was a result of a market survey conducted by the Founders Mr. & Mrs. Tabitha Karanja on opportunities available in manufacturing market then.
The market research revealed a gap in the liquor market that was to later to turn out to be “jealously guarded” market by a multinational for over 80 years. The research further revealed a unique trend that for all this years was ignored: the lower end of the market.
According to United Nations statistics then, 56%of Kenyans lived below the one dollar a day poverty mark which simply means a huge population was not targeted by the existing multinational. This fact would then reveal why the illicit brew industry thrived much as people went for the cheap although dangerous brews not only because of lack of funds but also lack of choice.” – Keroche Breweries
For close to a century, the alcohol industry in Kenya was dominateb the East African Breweries Limited, then Kenya Breweries Limited. Keroche Breweries was meant as an attempt to go against the grain as well as provide quality and affordable liquor to the lower end market/consumer.
Mrs Tabitha Karanja is recognised for building a strong company while going up against numerous challenges. In an interview on NTV‘s the trend, she claimed to have started the brewery with only 200,000 shillings as capital.
Keroche Breweries is now one of the biggest breweries in the region and are currently doing 100,000 hectolitres for Summit (their leading beer brand) with the aim of reaching the million mark by February 2015. For their range of spirits they are doing about 15000 bottles a day.
Apart from Summit, they also produce a wide range of wines, spirits and ready to drink vodka. Their distribution network includes off trade retail supermarkets and hypermarkets, convenience stores, and petrol marts.