Did you know that the age old Kenyan cooking fat KIMBO (accompanying images), is an abbreviation for Kenya Industrial Management Board i.e. KIMBO...?
After World War II, the Colonial Government in Kenya commissioned the Kenya Industrial Management Board (KIMBO), to formulate a versatile generic cooking fat that was both fit for Human consumption and lowly priced. The Colonial Government in Kenya at the time was inspired by the example of Butter vs. Margarine and World War II i.e. the production of butter is an involving, lengthy and expensive process and e.g. there is a need for the provision of ample and lengthy time for certain processes in the production of butter e.g. fermentation.
Soldiers during World War II were constantly on the move and constantly under the threat of attack, so butter simply could not be incorporated in the operations of soldiers, hence the big time evolution of margarine during World War II i.e. margarine was much less involving and expensive to produce, it was tasty, it had a longer shelf life than butter, soldiers loved it, and it could be used on the move.
Inspired by margarine and how it revolutionised menus for soldiers during World War II, the Colonial Kenya Government, as mentioned, commissioned the Kenya Industrial Management Board (KIMBO), to formulate a versatile cooking fat in Kenya that would revolutionise cooking fat in the same way that margarine had revolutionised spreads on bread during World War II.
This the Kenya Industrial Management Board (KIMBO) did, introducing a cooking fat to the market which they simply labeled KIMBO i.e. a product of the Kenya Industrial Management Board (KIMBO).
KIMBO became an instant hit in the then Kenya Colony with all races i.e. Black, Asian and White i.e. it produced great tasty dishes and it was also affordable. KIMBO therefore began selling like hot cakes.
The initial KIMBO products unleashed on the market were trial products, not finished products i.e. it had been anticipated that more ingredients would be added to the trial product, but given the huge success with which the market received KIMBO, it was decided not to change a single thing about it, not a single ingredient and not even the name i.e. KIMBO i.e. a product of the Kenya Industrial Management Board (KIMBO).
The Kenya Industrial Management Board (KIMBO) and the Colonial Kenya Government were however limited and inexperienced in their capacity to mass produce, market, sell and distribute KIMBO all across Kenya, as well as all across East Africa, so a decision was made to sell off the KIMBO brand as a whole to East African Industries (today Unliver), which had all round experience and capacity in manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution.
The rest as is said, is history;
