In a move set to shake up the regional dairy and wellness market, Kenya’s premier Food Innovation Studio, led by Nicodemus, officially welcomed the leadership team of Nigeria’s fast-growing Zayith Yogurt company to Nairobi this week.
The high-profile visit, led by Zayith’s CEO and Founder, Chidimma Uzoma, marks the beginning of strategic exploratory talks aimed at introducing the premium Nigerian yogurt brand into the vibrant East African economic hub.
“East Africa, with Nairobi at its epicenter, represents a massive frontier for health-conscious consumer goods,” said Chidimma Uzoma during the welcome reception. “Partnering with Nicodemus and the Food Innovation Studio allows us to understand the local palate, navigate regional supply chains, and seamlessly adapt our product offerings to delight Kenyan consumers.”
The Food Innovation Studio, known for fostering cutting-edge culinary advancements and scaling agri-food businesses across Africa, will serve as Zayith’s strategic landing pad. Over the coming weeks, Nicodemus and his team will host Uzoma for a series of market immersion sessions, stakeholder engagements, and collaborative R&D workshops designed to evaluate the feasibility of a permanent East African footprint.
This cross-regional collaboration underscores a growing trend of intra-African business expansion, bridging West and East African market expertise to deliver innovative, high-quality nutrition to the continent’s rapidly urbanizing population.
Product Lines
Zayith positions itself as a premium, clean, health-conscious dairy brand with “no artificial anything.”
Their flagship products include:
- Greek Yogurt: Offers high-protein (up to 30g of protein per serving, traditionally strained) and low-fat variants, both in sweetened and plain unsweetened options.
- Yogurt Drinks: Smooth, mobile-friendly beverages flavored with real fruit rather than artificial syrups. Standard flavors include Strawberry, Vanilla (using real Madagascar bourbon vanilla pods), Mango, and Mixed Berry.
- Toppings & Collaborations: They sell premium accompaniments like granola and coconut flakes, and have even launched a collaborative co-branded product line called Zayith × ReelFruit.
Social Impact & Sourcing Strategy
One of Zayith’s core differentiators is its highly ethical supply chain:
- Empowering Female Farmers: Over 80% of their smallholder farmers are women based in Nigeria’s North Central region. Zayith cuts out middlemen to source directly at fair prices, maximizing the income of these female primary caretakers.
- Reducing Post-Harvest Loss: The company deliberately integrates real, farm-grown fruits into its drink lines specifically to tackle the massive fruit-spoiling and waste issues faced by Nigerian farmers.
- Nutritional Fortification: Partnering with the GAIN Foundation (Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition) and ECOWAS, Zayith fortifies its dairy products with essential micronutrients—Vitamin D, Zinc, Calcium, and Iron—to directly fight malnutrition in women and children.
Trajectory, Funding & Recognition
- Milestones: Scaled from a home kitchen (2018) to a second, larger controlled factory standard in 2022.
- Backing & Funding: Alumna of Orange Corners Nigeria (an entrepreneurial initiative backed by the Kingdom of the Netherlands). They secured key seed funding from the Dutch investment firm Tripple I and the Orange Corners Innovation Fund (OCIF) managed via the FATE Foundation.
- Awards: Recognized in the Fortify Forward Innovation Challenge for nutritional advancements and named among the Top 100 Companies in Africa by the Africa Business Heroes (ABH) network.
Growth Strategy
While Zayith has solidified a massive hold on the premium, healthy yogurt market in major Nigerian cities (Lagos, Port Harcourt, Ibadan), their explicit corporate roadmap includes pushing outside of Nigeria. Moving into West African neighbors like Ghana, Benin, and Togo – and now looking toward Nairobi, Kenya as an entry point into the East African dairy corridor – aligns perfectly with Chidimma Uzoma’s vision of regional pan-African expansion.
