No, Kenya’s beloved Arimi’s milking jelly not rebranded, old packaging remains

Photos have been shared on Facebook with the claim they show the new packaging of Arimi’s, a “milking jelly” used widely in Kenya as a skincare product.

The product was developed to be used when milking cows, but Kenyans use it on their skin, claiming it improves the complexion.

One photo shows the brand’s old familiar green-black-and-white packaging. Another photo shows tubs with yellow lids and a more modern blue-yellow-and-white label design.

The photos are captioned: “The Old Vs New Arimis jelly.” But has the agricultural-turned-skincare product rebranded like this?

Visual designer’s mock up

The rumours began circulating after someone describing themselves as a visual designer on Twitter shared illustrations of a new design for the product. But she made clear it wasn’t an official change for the brand.

Nanzia Kihari, whose Twitter handle is @thetriggahappy1”, tweeted that she “decided to rebranded your favorite brand as a slightly premium product. This is a passion project, I hope you like it”. 

The Nairobi-based designer shared the full “brand identity redesign” on Behance, a social media platform for creative work.

The Standard newspaper reported that “an artist’s impression of Arimis milking jelly’s ‘new’ package was ... met with opposition online” and Kenyan TV station KTN Home reposted the Standard article on Facebook.

Lighthearted suggestion taken seriously

Despite the media reporting that the design was merely a suggestion for a redesign and not official, Kenyans reacted as though the brand would become unrecognisable. 

Even Arimi’s Kenya took to social media to dismiss the rumours of a rebranding. They wrote on Facebook: “We strongly hold on our usual brand.”