Kingo’ri Wamabaki is an entrepreneur in the United Kingdom commanding the market with his brand, Muratelia Wine.
The wine is a UK version of popular traditional brew, muratina, which is widely consumed by people from Central Kenya.
But how did he end up in the UK and what was his entrepreneurial like? Here is Wamabaki’s story as told by WoK.
Wamabaki hails from the Central Region and growing up, he was fascinated with how people enjoyed partaking muratina.
Having stayed in the UK for nearly three decades, he had missed a lot of things about the Kenyan culture including the popular drink.
As such, he decided to come up with a version of the drink in a bid to win hearts of Kenyans in the UK who would love to have a feel of home.
Come 2019, Wamabaki who holds a Master’s degree in Economics quit his full time job to work towards establishing his wine brand.
He works from Chesnutt where he brews and packages the drink according to the British law and releases it to the market.
“Muratina fruit, in particular, is used in preparing this drink but gives it a fruity flavour and stylish packaging to woo his British clientele. Back in Kenya, it is served in cow horns as culture dictates,” he said in a statement on his website.
Wamabaki also explained why the drink is unique.
“What makes Muratelia and other brands to come unique is traditional Kenyan recipes inspire them, and we incorporate market insights to develop premium beverages to delight your customers and offer cocktails to create memorable experiences at your venues.”
To prepare the drink, muratina fruit is soaked in an airtight bucket with water mixed with honey to sweeten it.
It is then stored at high temperatures to allow for fermentation although Kingo’ri Wamabaki adds some more flavours to meet his clients’ appeal abroad.
Having met all the safety standards, UK authorities certified Muratina as a quality drink.
A bottle of the wine retails as Ksh 1,495, and is only sold to persons above the age of 35.