Type: Limited Company
Year of Founding: 2017
Number of Employees: 35 employees, of which 70% are women
CEO: Mwangi Muturi

Mission: Provide high quality fresh herbs and to create job opportunities for local communities.

Business Model

Mwangi created in 2017 Lusoi Greens, a family-run company growing herbs such as basil, mint, rosemary and thyme for export. The herbs are grown in Kenyan highlands at an altitude of 1,900 meters in open fields and greenhouses to ensure continued supply all year long. Lusoi Greens is a pioneer Kenyan company in producing and exporting indigenous herb. They are one of the few Kenyan company supplying herbs to international markets. A production supervisor and a packhouse supervisor ensure that food safety and hygiene standards are respected. Lusoi Greens employs staff from local communities.

Products Covered and Markets

Lusoi Greens’ produce range covers a large variety of herbs, including basil, mint, rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley, chives, sage, tarragon, dill, chervil and lemon. Basil accounts for about 60% of the total production. The 100% natural herbs are packaged according to the customer’s needs in 25/50/100 grammes bunches or in 1 kg bulk bags. The company’s customers are re-sellers and packers that distribute the products to supermarkets, restaurants and to the wholesale sector. About 95% of the company’s production is sold on international markets, 70% being exported to the UK and 30% to the Netherlands. The rest of the production is sold in small packages on the local market.

Lusoi Greens operates in compliance with GLOBALG. A.P and GRASP (GLOBALG. A.P Risk Assessment on Social Practice) standards which are key for its exports activity.

Innovations: Milestones and Expansion Plans

Lusoi Greens has dug a borehole to irrigate its plantations in a resource-efficient way. The company has developed a quality control programme to ensure the high quality of its products and support the is staff’s capacity development.

Lusoi Greens plans to expands its activities with regard to its produce range, market access and consumers’ base. The company aims to diversify its production by growing chilies and bell peppers for both the export and local markets. It also plans to start value addition by drying herbs to extend their shelf life. The company also plans to invest in an automated consumer packing line to directly reach its end-consumers and so to bypass re-sellers and/or packers. Lusoi Greens is prospecting to have the British Retail Consortium certification as an additional means to proof its compliance with (high) quality and regulatory market requirements.

From 2023 onwards, the company projects to diversify its clientele and reach new markets both at regional and international level. At an international level, the company aims to export herbs to France (especially to the Rungis wholesale market) and to the Middle East region (UAE and Qatar). At regional level, Lusoi Greens will start exporting to Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.

Success Factors and Lessons Learned

Lusoi Greens contributes to improve the living conditions of local communities by creating jobs and investing in local infrastructure. The company constructed roads to ease the access to its farm and packaging plants, installed electricity and ensures continuous water supply in the surrounding area.

Additional Resources