Naivas Supermarkets has marked the climax of the first quarter of its 2027 Financial Year campaign, Naivas Ni Kwetu, with a Cultural Day celebration in Kisumu bringing together communities from across Western Kenya and neighbouring regions.
The event placed Luo culture at the centre of the celebrations while showcasing ten other cultural representations, reflecting the retailer’s message that its stores should feel like home to customers regardless of where they come from.
Communities represented included the Luo, Kisii (Gusii), Suba, Kuria, Luhya, Teso, Samia, Kipsigis, Nandi and Maasai, alongside the Asian community, which has played a significant role in the region’s commercial history.
Naivas Head of Marketing Florence Saronge said the cultural representations were curated in collaboration with the National Museums of Kenya in Kisumu and advisers drawn from the respective communities.
“Every community you see represented here was curated in partnership with the National Museums of Kenya, Kisumu, together with advisers from those communities,” Saronge said.
“The strategic point is simple: at Naivas, home is bigger than any one community. Our customers come from everywhere, and home as we understand it must be big enough for all of them.”
The celebration formed part of Naivas Ni Kwetu, the retailer’s flagship campaign for the first quarter of its FY2027, built around connecting its retail operations more closely with the communities it serves.
Culture meets commerce
The Kisumu event featured a Ni Kwetu Marketplace, where regional and national suppliers showcased and sampled products directly to customers.
The marketplace was also designed to highlight the role local producers play in Naivas’ supply network, giving businesses access to customers through the supermarket’s national retail footprint.
Food was another central part of the celebrations through the Taste of Ni Kwetu experience, which featured regional dishes prepared using products sourced through the Naivas Fresh supply chain.
The retailer said the showcase was aimed at connecting its fresh-food business with the food traditions and everyday experiences of customers in the region.
The Cultural Day culminated in a joint performance bringing together all the participating communities in a celebration of Kenya’s cultural diversity.
Naivas Chief Executive Officer Andreas von Paleske said the campaign is intended to make customers across different parts of Kenya feel represented within the retailer’s stores.
“Naivas Ni Kwetu is our promise made visible. When a customer walks into any of our stores in Kisumu, Nairobi, Mombasa, anywhere, they should feel that the store understands the home they come from,” he said.
“Today, Kisumu taught the whole company what that feels like. We are deeply honoured to be guests of this community.”
Focus on regional suppliers
The celebration also highlighted Naivas’ growing commercial presence and sourcing relationships in Western Kenya, where the retailer works with suppliers and producers who feed into its fresh-food supply chain.
Naivas Chief Commercial Officer Jorsen Patten said bringing culture and commerce together reflects how the supermarket works with suppliers across the country.
“Culture and commerce are not competing agendas; they are the same agenda,” Patten said.
“The Marketplace you see here is our commercial model in miniature: regional and national suppliers, local sourcing, and a platform that turns homegrown quality into national reach.”
Naivas operates a network of supermarkets across Kenya alongside a growing fresh-food and own-brand portfolio.
Through the Naivas Ni Kwetu campaign, the retailer says it wants to position its stores not only as shopping destinations but also as spaces that reflect the communities and cultures they serve.
