Evaluation of Market Potential of Koche, A Traditional Pastoral Meat Product for Commercialization in Kenya

Indigenous meat products from pastoral communities face numerous constraints thus have limited commercialization potential. Most of the products are sold only in the informal markets. Koche is a deep fried meat product prepared from beef or camel meat by the Borana community. Koche product is a rich nourishing snack that can last for a long time without refrigeration making marketing and handling convenient for consumers and retailers. However, Koche product is only marketed in the informal markets. The present study was designed to evaluate the market potential of Koche product in Eastleigh town, Nairobi to obtain information on marketing, consumption and factors influencing marketability of Koche product. A total of 30 traders and 196 consumers were randomly selected. Quantitative data were collected using pre-tested semi-structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics such as percentages, frequencies and logit model were used for data analysis. The findings indicate that the market outlets for Koche product included sale in stalls (20 %), hotels (6.7 %) and street vending (73.3 %). Street vending represented the highest percentage (73.3 %). The main constraints affecting Koche product marketability were poor product quality (60 %), strict regulations by city council (30 %), and poor packaging material (46.7 %). The results also revealed that majority (87 %) of the households consume Koche product while only 13 % did not consume Koche product. Taste (90.8 %) was the most important quality criterion used by consumers at the point of purchase. Income, ethnicity and household size were found to be significant predictors (p