Kitui flour mills: why is the Kitui flour mills company so successful?

Few people will dispute the assertion that the Kitui flour mills company is one of the most successful milling companies in Kenya. It has managed to dominate some markets completely – like where you visit some towns and find that more than 70% of the maize flour and wheat flour products on sale are from Kitui flour mills. And the question that arises then, is as to why Kitui flour mills company has been so successful, and what we can learn from it as upcoming entrepreneurs.

I posed that question, on why the Kitui flour mills company has been so successful to a certain businessman who runs a chain of wholesale stores and who stocks Kitui flour mills products a great deal. So I wanted to know his views on why Kitui flour mills company has been so successful. The businessman told me that in his view, there are three factors behind the success of Kitui flour mills.

Firstly, he told me that he thinks that Kitui flour mills success is, to a great extent, attributable to the effort that the company’s management has made in establishing strong distribution networks.

Secondly, he told me that he thinks that Kitui flour mills success is, to a considerable extent, attributable to consistent marketing campaigns by the Kitui flour mills company. I mean, things like giving promotional materials to shop owners (like those tents we tend to find in café extensions in Mombasa) as well as media ads have helped a great deal in getting the Kitui flour mills brand etched in customers’ minds.

Thirdly, he told me that he thinks that Kitui flour mills success is also attributable to the company’s investment in professional management. That is as opposed to other companies that insist on nepotistic hiring or hiring the cheapest people, which ultimately impacts the quality of management service. He told me that the few Kitui flour mills managers he had gotten to interact with were true professionals and that could be one of the reasons behind the company’s roaring success.