Pick n’ peel, Del Monte,
Minute Maid, Afia, Quencher… are some of the juice brands that adorn our retail
outlets. A walk into any store in Nairobi will have you feeding your eyes on a
variety of brands, such that making a choice would be a task. Nevertheless,
your choice will ultimately boil down to whether you prefer the processed
juices or fresh juices.
Fresh juices extracted from fresh fruits are mostly offered
as an alternative option in restaurants. They also feature prominently in
households that possess juicers and blenders, which allows them the luxury of
preparing the juice themselves. Processed juices come packaged and are
mostly found in supermarket shelves and in various retail outlets. They are
popular especially for consumers on the go who prefer to carry the juice with
them as opposed to taking it in one sitting. Brands like Del monte, Pick n’
Peel and Minute Maid are popular among juice lovers from this category.
The packaging, branding and marketing has made this brands stand out among
other juices.
Given the competition
between brands, manufacturers of processed juices try to outdo each
other in order to lure more consumers to sample their products. Most
manufacturers have been pushed to modify their packaging e.g adopting the
easy-to-open juice pack with a lid that can be screwed shut which helps to maintain
freshness and prevent spillage. With such innovations, brands that are unable
to keep up with the stiff competition are slowly eliminated out of the market.
Whereas most homes in
Nairobi stock their refrigerators with packets of processed juices of choice,
there are those who prefer to invest in a juicer or blender which they use to
prepare fresh juices. Since this necessitates the need to invest in the
juicer, the bulk of consumers end up going the processed way or visiting
restaurants that offer fresh, unprocessed juice.
A spot check in most
restaurants in Nairobi shows that they are indeed stepping up their game by
including a variety of freshly squeezed juices in their soft drinks menu. WestPot restaurant in Westlands is one such restaurant. At West Post you
get to enjoy a variety of juices ranging from the thick and awfully delicious
banana juice, Mango, strawberry, Grapple - a blend of Grape and Apple
juice, among others. They even offer blended vegetable juice.
Take the NairobiSunset for example: This is a drink prepared by blending together Carrots
and Beetroots then adding ginger and fresh Orange juice to create a perfectly
healthy juice. The sheer fact that West Pot restaurant is located in Westlands
presents stiff competition in itself due to the many restaurants that dot
the area. They therefore work twice as hard to outdo each other. How else would
you explain spotting a juice like Ziwani, in their menu? Ziwani
being a combination of pineapples, banana, yoghurt, coconut, blended with fresh
orange juice, ice, lime and honey. This goes to show that when it comes to
juices, it is no holds barred for this restaurant!
