Effect of Holistic Marketing on Performance of Dairy Processors in Kenya

Abstract

Milk is one of the agricultural products which are widely consumed worldwide. It is also considered as one of the best sources of animal protein. Besides, it serves as a source of income to practitioners in the dairy industry. This is in compliance with economic and social pillars of Kenya vision 2030. Agriculture is the mainstay of Kenyan economy representing 24% of the GDP and contributing to 65% of Kenyan total export. The dairy industry contributes 14% of the agricultural GDP and 3.5% of total GDP in Kenya Milk processors firms are Key actors in promotion and development of the dairy industry in Kenya. The dairy processors carry out secondary and tertiary production by adding value to milk through sourcing, processing, distribution and accessing both domestic and foreign markets, hence are considered crucial actors in the dairy industry. The rapid growth of industry and dynamism of the business environment has been accompanied by a couple of challenges. Among the challenges experienced by the dairy processing firms are: seasonality of production, low productivity, limited agricultural technology, high cost of processing, marketing competition in the local and export market, poor infrastructure. Holistic marketing calls for a well balanced set of related marketing activities with wider scope and objectives in response to fundamental changes and challenges in marketing environment. The paper analysis the effect of holistic marketing on performance of dairy processors in Kenya.