Real Kenyan kibandaski numbers
- Tea cup COGS: KES 6-10 (tea leaves + milk + sugar + charcoal allocation)
- Tea cup sell price: KES 25-40 in Nairobi, KES 15-25 in towns
- Mandazi COGS: KES 4-7 per piece (flour + oil + sugar)
- Mandazi sell price: KES 10-20 per piece
- Typical Nairobi vendor: 80-150 cups/day + 50-100 mandazi/day
Three margin levers
- Bulk-buying milk: from KES 70/L to KES 60/L if you commit to 30L/week from one supplier. That alone is KES 9k/year saved.
- Tea + mandazi combo: bundle at "KES 35 chai + mandazi" instead of 30+15 = 45. Customer feels saved KES 10, you only sacrificed KES 10 of margin per combo, and combo-rate is 60-70% of orders.
- 5-7am rush: maximum margin window. Workers grabbing breakfast on the way to office pay full price, skip combo discount. Run with 2 staff at peak only.