KENYA – Copia Global, the B2C e-commerce platform designed to serve the rapidly growing middle and low-income African consumer market, has launched a new manufacturing unit that will enable it to enhance its output of affordable sugar and rice to the Kenyan market.
The new machine doubles the capacity offered by Copia to supply the goods to the Kenyan market, a service that it has been offering since 2016 in line with dynamic market trends and increased demand for quality staple goods.
The Unit will allow Copia to produce its own branded sugar and rice in package amounts of 500 grams and 1 kilogram.
“Our new unit enables us to tap into the growing demand for quality goods at affordable rates,” said Tim Steel, CEO, Copia Global.
“We are deepening our investments in line with consumer insights which indicate that lower cost, non-label goods are required in the market.
“By working with our partners and leveraging the efficiencies brought about by the new machine, we shall be able to double our current output in line with our purpose: Making Living Easier – Everyday.”
The new machine is the second of such unit that Copia operates and will enable Copia’s production team to stock higher amounts of Copia branded packaged rice and sugar to enhance availability of the goods and reduce the current dependency on market supply.
“Our ability to meet the rising demand for affordable goods in the market is what will give us the ability to create a sustainable and relevant e-commerce business,” said Ken Karoki, Vice President – Supply Chain, Copia Kenya.
“We are deploying this machine in response to the increasing demand from the market – the new machine will let us anticipate and meet the order inflows more efficiently.”
Copia currently offers two types of rice (biriyani and long grain) as well as granulated sugar in packs of 500 grams and 1 kilogram.
These foods are sourced from responsible local suppliers, who are continuously vetted for quality by the company.
Copia has secured all requisite regulatory approvals to provide the packaged goods, including accreditation from the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS).
Beyond this, Copia offers over 4,000 products to the Kenyan and Ugandan markets, with its ambition being to provide quality products at the lowest market prices delivered at no charge to the consumer.
By operating its own technology-enabled world-class logistics service, Copia is able to deliver to dense urban, peri urban, rural and remote locations, even in places with poor road infrastructure or lack of addresses, at no additional delivery cost to the customer.
In January this year, Copia Global raised US$50 million in a Series C equity round led by Goodwell Investments, coming three years after its Series B round of US$26 million. Copia’s total funding since inception in 2013 now stands at US$103 million.
The new financing round welcomed new investors such as Zebu Investment Partners, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and Koa Labs, as well as past investors Lightrock, German development finance institution DEG, and Perivoli Innovations.
In the latest issue of the CEO Business Africa Magazine, we highlighted the story of Copia through its CEO’s, Tim Steel, eyes. You can have a read Here.
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