Korean Firms Look Beyond Electronics to Kenya’s Beauty and Food Shelves

Korean companies looking for their next opening in Kenya are turning from electronics and heavy equipment to cosmetics and food. Some are also considering making products locally rather than relying on imports—a step that could reduce costs and bring business to Kenyan suppliers, according to Capital FM Kenya Business (direct).

Matundura Gesora, a senior manager at the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, known as KOTRA, said these everyday consumer products were attracting increasing interest. Electronics, vehicles and construction machinery have traditionally given Korean businesses a strong presence in Kenya. Now, cosmetics and food stand out among the categories he sees as having the strongest commercial demand or growth potential over the coming months and years.

Winning a place on Kenyan shelves

The opportunity comes with a practical challenge: products must suit Kenyan buyers and compete on price. Gesora said Korean companies were adapting their offerings to local tastes and cultural preferences. Their approach is not simply to bring existing goods into another market, but to design products with consumers in Kenya in mind. That makes product choices, as well as costs, central to their expansion plans.

“Korean companies are undertaking a few strategies to suit their products for this market by specifically designing products that are suitable for this market, taking into account the tastes and cultural preferences of their consumers in Kenya.” — Matundura Gesora, KOTRA

Local production is another option under consideration. Gesora said some companies were looking at establishing manufacturing operations in Kenya. Such a move could cut production and distribution expenses while making it easier to tailor goods to local demand. These remain possibilities being assessed, rather than manufacturing commitments announced in the report. For Kenyan businesses, the distinction matters: importing finished products and making them locally offer different opportunities for suppliers and workers.

Trade links with room to broaden

The consumer push sits within an existing trading relationship. Merchandise trade—the exchange of physical goods—between Kenya and South Korea totalled about US$225.96 million, or Sh29.2 billion, in 2025, according to South Korea-reported UN Comtrade data cited by Capital FM. That was six percent above the previous year. The figure covers goods traded between the two countries, rather than cosmetics and food alone.

Samsung and LG already have operations or distribution networks in Kenya. Newer Korean entrants are exploring the market through local distributors, retailers and possible manufacturing partners. Those channels give the consumer-goods expansion a different setting from the established Korean presence in electronics, vehicles and machinery, with businesses assessing how best to reach Kenyan customers.

The two countries are also pursuing closer commercial ties through investment, technology transfer and wider market access. Increasing Kenyan exports remains part of that broader agenda. The relationship therefore extends beyond finding Kenyan buyers for Korean products, although consumer goods are the latest area drawing companies’ attention.

The next development to watch is whether interest in local manufacturing turns into operations. More Korean investment could introduce products and technology, but opportunities for domestic suppliers and employment depend on companies moving beyond finished-goods imports. For now, adapting products and assessing local partners are central to the effort to win a larger place in Kenya’s consumer market.