Small retail shops littered all over the capital in Kampala and most of western Uganda sell a fermented milk product known as BONGO or Kivuguto as is popularly known in neighboring Rwanda.
Traditionally, Bongo is produced by traditional spontaneous acidification of raw milk by a microflora present both on utensils and containers used for milk preservation and in the near environment of cattle. Thus, this method does not allow the shelf stability of the product. Faced to such a situation, Fresh Dairy Uganda Limited have started producing fermented milk and using exotic strains.
The local subsidiary of Kenya’s Brookside Dairies on Wednesday launched its new BONGO at Hotel Africana in Kampala. Its informal version is extensively consumed across different cultures and tribes in Uganda.
Mr. Elias Ochola, Fresh Dairy’s Director of Sales revealed at the launch that in terms of production, the milk giants are homogenizing and pasteurizing it to make it safe for consumption, packaging it well and will be accessed in every part of the country using their extensive distribution channels that have been in place since 1967, when they started as Diary Corporation.
BONGO that has a shelf life of 21 Days at 4 degrees (refrigerated) will retail in 400 ml packs at Shs1500 across Uganda in all supermarkets, corner shops, kiosks, markets among others.
