Nakuru man buys cockroaches, bedbugs, at Sh 5 to use in sales promotion
Stephen Mwangi at his stall in Nakuru city on November 15, 2023.
One afternoon on my way back to the office after having lunch, I came across a large crowd of people looking at something.
Intrigued, I peeked into the circle and there was a guy with containers full of cockroaches and kunguni.
Yes, you read that right!
I moved to the front to get a better look and there stood Stephen Mwangi with a glass container full of the insects and bottles of pesticide just outside Rift Fries restaurant.
Live cockroaches that Mwangi uses for demonstration as he sells pesticides on November 15, 2023.
While in an exclusive interview with Mtaa Wangu, Mwangi talks more about his innovative way to market a new insecticide known as 'One Touch.'
He narrates, "I have been doing sales for a long time so when the opportunity arose to introduce the insecticide to the Nakuru market, I knew just what to do to pique the crowd's interest."
Mwangi who is a Regional sales manager shares with Mtaa Wangu that he came up with the brilliant idea to carry out live demonstrations close to two years ago.
Given that Nakuru is a new market they're trying to break into, demonstrations were more of a drastic measure to pull crowds and make sales.
When asked where he gets the roaches and bedbugs used during the live demonstrations, he responds, "We have a group of boys that we've employed to source them for us. For now, since our offices are based in Nairobi, we source them from there and the insects are sent to Nakuru via a parcel."
While speaking to the mobile marketer, he lets me know that they buy the roaches and bedbugs at the rate of Sh5 per insect.
Stephen Mwangi talks to customers at his stall where he sells pesticides on November 15, 2023.
They are then transported to Nakuru inside sacks to ensure the insects don't suffocate.
When I jokingly ask whether the roach-selling business is open to Nakuru folk, he giggles and shares, "I'll be very quick to buy the roaches from anyone willing to sell them to me no matter the location, even here in Nakuru."