Fast Moving Consumer Goods Growth in Kenya– The Power of the Last Mile

Every morning, millions of Kenyans begin their day at a ‘duka’, a roadside kiosk, or a market stall. They get small purchases repeatedly and indeed countless times across the country. These transactions may seem insignificant in isolation, but collectively they form the backbone of Kenya’s consumer economy.

And yet, they remain consistently undervalued in how companies design their growth strategies.

Undoubtedly, the Kiosk is Kenya retail sector’s nerve center that opens before sunrise and is run by a trader who knows every other customer by name. Moreover, the markets stall (Kiosks) serve a steady stream of loyal, repeat buyers and connects people through its informal, hyper-local networks. It is here, as well, where goods move quickly, flexibly, and at scale. Essentially market stalls (Kiosks) are not peripheral but central, major channels despite being small in size. 

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics’ (KNBS) 2026 Economic Survey, the informal sector employs 18.1 million (M) people, representing 84 per cent of the workforce outside of small-scale agriculture. Of the more than 822,000 jobs created in 2025, nearly 9 in 10 were generated by this segment marking it as the engine of growth and not a secondary system operating in the margins. 

For the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) companies in the country, this reality demands a mind shift. The small-scale trader is not just a seller. Indeed, the trader is the primary interface between brand and consumer and if companies are not effectively reaching and serving these entrepreneurs, then they are not truly reaching the market.

The risks of ignoring this segment and the investors therein became clear during the COVID-19 disruptions. Centralized distribution systems, especially those reliant on large retail chains, proved vulnerable to shocks, including supply delays, operational breakdowns, and temporary closures. In contrast, informal networks demonstrated resilience. The kiosk stayed open and community adapted.

This resilience is not accidental. Distributed, decentralized networks are inherently more flexible. When your route-to-market runs through thousands of independent entrepreneurs rather than a handful of large retail partners, it does not collapse under pressure; it adjusts. It bends.

Yet, there is also a clear commercial case for investments diversification. A concentrated route-to-market approach may be efficient in stable periods, but also quite fragile under strain. Essentially then, if growth and resilience are the goal, then distribution must be redesigned from the bottom to up (popular as Bottom Up).

This means starting not with the channel, but with the consumers in mind – where they live; how they shop; and who they trust. In Kenya, that journey begins in the informal economy.

One example of this approach is Maua, an innovative route-to-market model by Mars Wrigley Kenya. Fundamentally, the model empowers entrepreneurs to distribute products within their own neighborhoods while building sustainable livelihoods. To date, the program has supported more than 3,000 entrepreneurs directly and positively impacted over 16,000 lives indirectly. These entrepreneurs are not passive participants in a supply chain; they are business owners with a deep, nuanced understanding of their customers. They intuitively know demand patterns: what sells, when it sells, and why. The ‘Maua’ program has already been rolled out in Kenya and Tanzania and with plans to expand it into additional African markets this reflects its strong commercial potential and scalability.

This is a commercially sound model that expands reach, improves responsiveness, and strengthens market presence while simultaneously creating income opportunities at the community level.

The broader trajectory of Africa reinforces this direction. For instance, McKinsey research findings show that Africa’s consumer growth, projected to exceed K sh 259 trillion (Trn) (USD 2 Trn), will continue to be anchored on & in informal and hybrid retail systems. Much of this expansion will occur in areas where modern trade penetration is limited. The companies that succeed will be those already embedded in these ecosystems, working through trusted, localized networks.

It is time, therefore, to rethink what we mean by, “the last mile.”

Too often, it is treated as the final step in a linear supply chain, the point reached after the real strategic work is done. But in markets such as Kenya, the last mile is not the end of the journey. 

It is the beginning. It is where brand meets consumer. It is where purchase decisions are made.
It is where loyalty is built or lost. And in that sense, it is not the last mile at all. It is the first mile.

In Kenya and especially during the Covid-19 shutdowns, the informal sector sustained the economy which sailed through the then crises. It continues to generate most of the employment and shapes, indeed determines how millions of consumers access goods every day. To treat this segment as an after-thought is not just outdated, it is commercially short-sighted.

The future of FMCGs growth in Kenya will not be determined in boardrooms alone. It will be decided in Dukas, Markets, and Neighborhoods’ stalls; in the everyday transactions that define real consumer behavior.

The writer is the Corporate Affairs Manager Sub-Saharan Africa, Mars Wrigley

By Victoria Macharia