Behind the success of top milk processing companies are visionary entrepreneurs who have navigated challenges and seized opportunities to create thriving businesses.
These individuals have not only revolutionized how milk is processed and distributed but have also contributed significantly to the economy.
In this article, WoK delves into the inspiring journeys of entrepreneurs who rose to prominence in the milk processing industry.
1. Winnie Wandimi
Winnie Wandimi is the CEO of Wimssy Limited, a dairy company manufacturing products such as fermented milk and yoghurt.
Having grown as a farm kid, the entrepreneur loved dairy and gained interest in the same as she grew up.
“I used to love dairy from a young age and as I grew up I knew I would do something in dairy. My parents were farmers so I always loved cows and milk,” he noted
About 13 years ago Wandimi founded Wimssy Limited where she currently works with over 3,000 diary farmers.
“We’ve really been supporting our farmers and that’s why we are able to work with more farmers because everyday we have been recruiting new farmers,” she stated.
2. Margaret Ruguru
Margaret Ruguru is a dairy farmer from Murang’a County.
She has been in the farming business for over 20 years, and ventured into milk processing after working at one of Murang’a’s dairy cooperatives.
“An officer who later became my mentor connected me with Mariira Agricultural Show Farm, a facility that offers training in dairy production including milk processing,” she said.
In 2016, Margaret alongside 50 other farmers were trained on how to make yoghurt in collaboration with Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).
After acquiring the skill, she partnered with her husband to start a yoghurt processing company they named Sky Blue Farmlands.
3. Margaret Munene
Margaret Munene is the founder and CEO of Palmhouse Dairies, a milk processing company in Githunguri, Kiambu County.
The research scientist ventured into milk processing as the cooperative that she was selling to was not paying enough to balance off the costs.
“I was not finding satisfaction in my work, so in 1995 after working for nine years, I decided to quit and become a dairy farmer and milk hawker while my husband who had a better job, continued working,” she said.
Over the years, the company has grown from the initial machine capacity of 3,000 litres to 15,000 litres per day.
Their products range from fresh milk, yogurt and cream.
4. Ann Mwangi
Ann Mwangi is the director of Meved Diary, a local diary selling milk and dairy products such as yoghurts.
Ann had a difficulty in getting milk for consumption, and they had to travel over 40 kilometers to get milk.
“One morning we woke up and realized that we couldn’t take tea with milk since we had no milk anywhere. We could only go towards Karatina to get the milk,” she said.
It was then when Ann and her husband decided to invest on dairy animals in a bid to get milk for themselves and sell within their locality.
Ann and her husband decided to set up Meved Diary when milk in their storage tank, about 500 litres, went bad.
“We started to think of what else to do because the animals were increasing… that’s the time we decided to go to the next level of doing value addition. We started doing yoghurt and a bit of fermented milk,” she stated.
