The Arimi's magic. Why this milking jelly is a "darling" for Kenyans

 

Hanish Shah, man behind Arimi's

Arimi's, a milking jelly? No! This is a skin care jelly that its manufacturer first thought it fit to be used as a milking jelly.

The jelly was first created back in 1983 by Hanish Shah a resident from Meru, Kenya. 

In the past, the jelly was known to be used by families from poor backgrounds who could not afford other skin care products. It would leave school going kids with a shiny glowing skin back in the villages.

Hanish, a father of three, was an O-level graduate who managed a modest retail company selling goods before joining the family business in 1978. He got the concept for Arimi's after interacting with various German enterprises.

Shah conducted research on the problems faced by small scale farmers in the region at the time and created what he called a high-quality product that was also affordable.

Not many people notice the apostrophe on the name Arimi’s.In many Bantu languages, Arimi means farmer and the apostrophe gives farmers a sense of ownership on the products.

Shah reckons that the popularity of the brand grew gradually through the years through word of mouth from one generation to another.

Due to the success of the jelly, operations were relocated from Meru to Nairobi in 1985, and Arimi's is now made by Tri-Clover Industries (Kenya) Ltd, of whom Hanish is the managing director.

Warning from Kenyans

At one point, Kenyans on social media gave a warning to the company not to even think about rebranding. This is after reports emerged that the company was thinking about repackaging the jelly in fancy bottles. The comany however in a statement refuted the claims stating that the reports of its rebranding was false.

"We are not rebranding, the company stated in a statement on its social media handles."

The jelly has enjoyed great success with little to no marketing from the company. Interestingly, the company hasn't changed its marketing of the jelly as a milking jelly. It is still marketed as it was initially intended.