Made in UK and quality link: Is the Empire striking back?
Xn Iraki
By
XN Iraki
| Oct 15, 2025
Have you noted the growing number of outlets selling ex-UK (United Kingdom) products? They range from bicycles to utensils.
I asked the owner of such an outlet on the Northern bypass why ex-UK. It’s about quality, she told me. Conventional wisdom also suggests that second-hand clothes (mitumba) from the UK are considered better than those from other countries.
The return of UK products is interesting. Is Brexit a factor? It’s not just second-hand products but also education.
It’s not uncommon nowadays to find Kenyans studying in the UK, particularly for postgraduate degrees. One enticement of a shorter duration for the courses. Remember, two of our presidents schooled there?
Why is the Empire striking back? As children, everything was made in England, from utensils to cars. It seems that after that, there was de-industrialisation and China and other eastern countries took over.
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I am curious to know if these household items sold in Kenya are actually made in the UK. Are they imported there before finding their way here?
Clearly, quality is a selling point. I see the same thinking in the auto industry, where mechanics advise you to buy mitumba parts instead of new parts.
Become affluent
The parts might be old, but higher quality. While price is a factor in purchasing a product or service, perceived quality matters more so as we become affluent. Perceived, because it’s only after using the service or product that one can confirm the quality.
Our coffee and tea are known for quality.
You are unlikely to find tea tasting better than our “factory” tea anywhere in the world. We can talk about supermarket tea later.
Quality sells. Think of perfumes from Paris, Italian shoes, Clothes from Turkey, wines from South Africa and hairstyles (and churches) from West Africa.
The link between quality and price has been well explored and exploited by entrepreneurs. We need to scale it up at the national level.
The easiest way to create jobs is to produce quality goods and services. Customers will pay a premium and create demand, leading to job creation.
What quality product or service do we have for the global market? Our focus should be on the eight billion citizens of planet Earth. Think of it, Facebook or Google have the world as their market.
Which Kenyan firm has such a market? The space is being opened up; it’s also a market. We should even have products for exoplanets