Jif in Kenya

A market entry program that brings Jif peanut butter to Kenya in a 20 g sachet priced for a tight weekly budget.

Course: International Marketing, Prof. Bud Clarke
Brief: Enter a new market for J.M. Smucker
Team: Five students
Deliverable: Market entry program with P&L, budget and logistics

Concept art of three 20 g Jif creamy peanut butter sachets with a Kenyan-flag stripe, beside a paper shelf tag reading KSh 30, about $0.22 — Our 20 g sachet concept, priced at KSh 30–35.

The problem

Kenyan families buy peanut butter, but local brands sell it in 250–800 g jars at $2.50 to $5.50 a purchase. That price up front shuts out a lot of households.

Kenya is East Africa’s largest economy, with a growing modern retail sector and better logistics than its neighbors. But many families’ weekly budgets are limited to about KSh 1,674, roughly $15, and around 60% of Kenyans don’t buy peanut butter regularly. Nuteez and Zesta are cheaper per gram, so Jif can’t win on price per gram once it pays to ship from Ohio. It can win on the price at the till.

~60%of Kenyans don’t buy peanut butter regularly

$15the weekly budget many families live on

13Msocial media users in Kenya

Our launch mark for the program.

Competition

Two ways to read a price

Per gram, Jif is the premium option. Per purchase, it’s the cheapest thing on the shelf.

Price per gram

What a bulk buyer compares. Local brands win here.

Zesta

$0.0063

Nuteez

$0.0075

Jif

$0.0115

Skippy

$0.0119

Price per purchase

What a shopper with $15 a week actually feels.

Zesta

$2.50

Nuteez

$3.00

Jif

$0.22

Skippy

$5.50

So Jif is positioned as a premium, imported brand that anyone can afford today.

Pricing

Building a $0.135 sachet

Every cost from the Ohio plant to the Nairobi warehouse, including Kenya’s import taxes, comes to 13.5 cents a sachet.

Production Freight Duty VAT

$0.075ProductionPeanuts, oils and sugar, roasting and grinding, sachet film, labor
$0.015LogisticsTruck to New York, ocean freight, and Mombasa to Nairobi
$0.0225Import dutyKenya’s 25% tariff on imported food
$0.003Declaration feeA 3.5% government import fee
$0.0185VAT16%, charged after duty and fees

The pricing ladder

From the factory to the shelf, a sachet costs a Kenyan shopper less than a tenth of a local jar.

Landed costMade in Ohio, shipped, duties paid

$0.135

WholesaleJif to the retailer, 25% margin

$0.17

Shelf price30–35 KSh after retailer markup

$0.22–0.25

Local brand jarNuteez, Zesta, Skippy, 250–800 g

$2.50–5.50

Who it’s for

Three ways into Nairobi

Launch in one dense city with modern supermarkets first, prove demand, then expand.

Primary

Urban, price-sensitive families

A parent or household shopper buying food in small amounts on a tight weekly budget, who wants an affordable source of protein for the family. A sachet lets them try a known brand without paying for a whole jar.

Through schools

Kids and their families

Sachets as a cafeteria meal pairing build early familiarity, and kids who know the brand ask for it at home.

Digital-first

Young working adults

Looking for cheap, filling, portable snacks, and the easiest group to reach on social media and mobile.

Ohio to Nairobi

Three logistics partners carry each 500,000-sachet shipment from the plant to the shelf.

Day 1OhioSachets made, packed onto 10 pallets and loaded in a day
36–42 hrsPort of New York600 miles by J.B. Hunt truckload, then ocean freight
24–48 hrsMombasaRCL Africa clears customs and pays duty, VAT and fees
12–18 hrsNairobiAlliad Logistics trucks it to a 6,000 sq ft warehouse at $1,200 a month
Weekly100–150 storesNaivas, QuickMart and Carrefour across Westlands, Kilimani, Eastlands and the CBD

Three years of shipments

Each shipment is 500,000 sachets sold at $0.17. Pick a year to see the plan.

$510,000

6 shipments, 3 million sachets, at a 20.6% gross margin.

The numbers

Profitable in year one

A projected profit and loss for the first six shipments, and where the marketing money goes.

Year 1 profit and loss

Revenue500,000 sachets × 6 shipments × $0.17

$510,000

Cost of goods soldLanded at $0.135 a sachet

−$405,000

Gross profit

$105,000

MarketingThe budget on the right

−$52,500

Net profit

$52,500

Gross margin 20.6%Marketing 10.3% of revenueNet margin 10.3%

The $52,500 marketing budget

PromotionDigital ads, influencers, in-store, PR

$28,875 · 55%

Distribution supportDisplays, shelf placement

$10,500 · 20%

Product supportPackaging, taste tests

$7,875 · 15%

Pricing supportDiscounts, price tests

$3,675 · 7%

Marketing researchInsights, tracking

$1,575 · 3%

Go to market

How Jif gets tried

Most shoppers don’t buy peanut butter regularly, so the job is getting a first taste, then a second purchase.

In-store sampling and BOGO
Pop-up sampling stands inside Nairobi supermarkets, with buy-one-get-one-free sachets to turn a taste into a first purchase.
Target: 20% buy after trial · 50% BOGO uptake
School partnerships
Branded sachets offered as a cafeteria meal pairing at large Nairobi schools, building recognition with kids and parents.
Builds household repeat purchase
15 Nairobi micro-influencers
Two to three videos a week on Instagram and Facebook showing meal pairings, recipes and how easy a sachet is to carry.
Target: 6–7% engagement · 25%+ video completion
WhatsApp coupons
Promotions revealed on WhatsApp: message Jif to unlock exclusive coupons, backed by paid photo ads targeted by location.
Target: 30–35% promo redemption

Small Sachet, Big EnergyAffordable Protein for Everyday Life

Controls

How we’d know it’s working

Monthly reviews, bi-weekly digital tracking and weekly shelf audits by sales reps.

30%

of buyers purchase again within 60 days

90%

of target stores have Jif on the shelf at any time

60%

of Nairobi unit sales are 20 g sachets in the first four months

20.6%

gross margin floor in year one

If sales lagMove ad spend to the best-performing platform and add more in-store sampling.
If margins slipRenegotiate freight contracts or adjust the wholesale price.
If year two missesHold off on Tanzania and Uganda and go deeper in Nairobi first.

The plan in three numbers

20g

Single-serve sachet, sized for a household with a limited weekly budget.

$1.02M

Projected year-three revenue from 12 shipments.

25%

Target gross margin once shipments scale.

What we’d do next time

Spend more time on the financials: long- and short-term operating costs, and how competitors perform.
Do more field research and taste testing in Kenya before committing to a recipe.
Build stronger contingency plans for shipping and supply-chain disruptions.

My part

Co-authored the full program with four teammates: positioning, product, pricing, distribution, promotion, digital, segmentation and targeting.
Worked from real cost inputs: freight, Kenyan import duties and standards, warehouse rent and retailer markups.
Turned them into a projected profit and loss statement, a budget and the controls to track it.