Wayne Cook has been the managing director of Del Monte Kenya since September 2023, steering one of the country’s largest agricultural exporters at a time global consumer preferences are increasingly moving away from processed foods on health grounds.
He spoke to the Business Daily on the shifting global markets, pricing strategy and how the firm is positioning itself for continued investment and growth in Kenya.
How is Del Monte bracing for the global consumer shift away from processed foods towards healthier products?
We recognise that consumers are increasingly prioritising health, transparency and clean-label products which we believe is an opportunity.
For Del Monte Kenya, this conversation is nuanced. Much of what we produce, particularly in Kenya, is fruit — grown, harvested and processed close to the source. Pineapple remains a natural product, rich in nutrients, and our focus has been on preserving quality while minimising unnecessary additives.
We are investing in product innovation that aligns with evolving consumer expectations: lower sugar variants by use of fructose, portion-controlled offerings and greater transparency in labeling.
At the same time, we continue to strengthen traceability and sustainability across our value chain, because modern consumers care not just about what they eat, but how it is produced. Health-conscious consumption is here to stay, and our strategy is to evolve with it both responsibly and proactively.
How do you keep Del Monte products affordable at a time when consumers are also actively trading down to cheaper food options?
Affordability is central to our operating model. We benefit from vertical integration — from farming to processing — which allows us to manage costs more effectively and reduce dependency on volatile external supply chains. Operational efficiency, scale and disciplined cost management enable us to absorb certain pressures without passing the full burden to consumers.
We also focus on product mix, offering a range of pack sizes and formats that meet different consumer budgets. In times of economic strain, flexibility matters.
Our ultimate goal is to remain accessible to ordinary households while safeguarding product quality and farmer livelihoods. It is a careful balance, but one we manage through efficiency, innovation and long-term planning.
What would have to change for Del Monte to compete credibly on health, without pricing itself out of reach for ordinary consumers?
Fresh Del Monte's mission is to inspire a healthy and nutritious lifestyle by providing wholesome and convenient foods to everyone.
As mentioned, much of what we produce, particularly in Kenya, is fruit and specifically pineapple, which is rich in nutrients. Our focus is on preserving quality while minimising unnecessary additives.
We believe that health and affordability should not be mutually exclusive. We integrate both into our long-term value proposition by offering nutritious products, produced sustainably and priced responsibly.
Does the financial pressure seen in the US, signal a deeper problem within Del Monte’s traditional product mix?
It is important to contextualise market dynamics. Financial pressure in one geography does not automatically translate into structural weakness across the group. Different markets operate under different demand cycles, cost structures and competitive environments.
In Africa, and particularly in Kenya, we continue to see strong fundamentals driven by export demand, agricultural strength and strategic investments such as renewable energy and cold chain expansion.
Rather than indicating a deeper problem, these pressures reinforce the need for continuous portfolio optimisation and geographic diversification, which are already part of our strategy.
Is Kenya more valuable to Del Monte as a low-cost production base or as a consumer market?
Kenya is not a low-cost production base. If you compare Kenya to countries like Thailand or the Philippines, which are also very big pineapple producers, Kenya is more expensive.
What makes Kenyan pineapple strategically strong is the Del Monte brand and the quality of the product. We grow a unique variety, the MD2 pineapple, which is high quality and differentiated. By the nature of the product, Kenya is a supplier to international markets, and that’s where the demand is created.
Why has Del Monte largely written off Kenya as a consumer market for its core products?
I would say, the product we’re selling is sufficiently available for the local consumer so we wouldn’t want to try and sell more pineapples locally.
I think just by nature of the raw material that we are selling, every market needs a demand and there always needs to be a supply. I would say in the canned pineapple business and fresh pineapple business, Kenya is a supplier and the international market is where the demand is created.
Where does Del Monte plan to expand next as growth around Thika operation becomes constrained?
Yes, definitely, we’re looking at expanding. Where we’re situated now in Thika, we’ve been here for 60 years during which period the town has grown and urbanisation taken place.
Agriculture still needs to be strong in any area, but because of the location and the urbanisation, it is not possible to expand. So for the future, Del Monte needs to look at further land opportunities so that we can expand our pineapple plantations. We are also looking at potential products more further north, the Tana River area, where we are looking to maybe do some bananas as well.
Last month, the Tax Appeals Tribunal upheld a Sh6.76 billion tax assessment against Del Monte Kenya. How do you respond to this and how does it impact your plans?
What I can say is that we had an assessment done in the past and a certain methodology was used, which is an internationally accredited methodology for transfer pricing, and at that point in time, that methodology was backed by the tax authority.
We haven’t changed that methodology for the last 12 years since the previous assessment. From our perspective we don’t feel that this is something that is going to have an impact on our business. It’s more an issue of interpretation and translation and that’s what we are working through with the tax authority at the moment.
What costs are hitting Del Monte Kenya the hardest right now?
If you look at input costs over the last few years, everything has gone up. Labour costs have gone up, electricity has certainly gone up, and electricity is one of our big farming costs because we rely heavily on irrigation.
We’ve also had the impact of Covid on shipping lines, and many fertilisers and raw materials come from China, so there were periods when containers were not available. Then you add issues like the Red Sea disruptions and all of that feeds into higher costs.
How is the company dealing with the rising cost pressures?
The fact that most input costs have gone up doesn’t mean that you can’t find ways to become more efficient. That’s why Del Monte is embarking on initiatives like developing our own bio-fertiliser facility so that we can recycle our biomass.
We don’t like to call it waste anymore, we call it a by-product, because there is value in it. The idea is to find ways to negate the impact of rising input costs by improving efficiency and sustainability.
Globally, we all need to find ways to combat rising costs, climate change and increasing instability in supply chains.
