The 5 Popular Maziwa Mala (Lala) Brands in Kenya: Worst to Best

Mala/Lala is used to accompany ugali and vegetables by washing everything down. Fermented milk is crucial in helping boost digestion and nutrient uptake in the intestines, thanks to the lactic acid probiotics. This post is a ranking of all the popular brands in Kenya to find the next best recommendation for your taste.

There is no actual difference between maziwa mala or lala, it is essentially the same thing and both names are used interchangeably

This is a bias-free review with no affiliations with any brands as I hate them all equally, and I haven’t become a sell-out yet.

Table of Contents

6. Daima

Daima maziwa Lala fails in every desirable aspect of a good maziwa mala, it actually has everything bad; well at least according to me.

It is revolting, the texture is so thin thinner than some yogurts, it is shallow in flavor and taste, and it has nothing going on, to say the least, I’ll just save my keystrokes here and move to the next.

5. Kinangop

Kinangop has the most unappealing packaging, it is so bad and low effort, I’m sure a rebrand would go a long way.

As for its Lala milk variant, it seems to be the least sweetened option available, which could be appreciated by those who don’t fancy added sugars.

The taste is mediocre, with inconsistent quality; at times it’s satisfactory, while other times it falls short.

The texture is likewise problematic, exhibiting noticeable curdling in each sip and failing to deliver the smoothness it promises. I mean it’s literally written smooth and thick on the bottle. (At least they didn’t lie about the thickness part)

Despite this, it has a tolerable aftertaste and a somewhat unpleasant odor.

It is however thick with 3.5g of butterfat meaning it is whole milk that is fermented to make this, thus its pleasant thickness.

4. Fresha

Fresha Maziwa Lala is okay, this is where I’ll start recommending, Fresha itself has consistent issues meaning the bottle or pouch you get today is not that similar to the one you got days ago, sometimes its thicker sometimes thinner than usual, but at least these shifts aren’t so bad to be bothered that’s why I can recommend it.

It actually has flavor and is not as bland as the Kinangop one, it is perfect, not too sweet not too unsweet, and just hits the spot.

I find versions in a pouch to be better than the bottled one in terms of, well everything!

3. KCC

KCC’s mala is the traditional version; it is the most authentic without any debate.

Yes, every other brand is a copycat of KCC, no wonder KCC’s fermented milk is known as “mala” while the rest of the brands call theirs “lala”

KCC used to be the best years ago but other brands have evolved and become even better than the pioneer, still, KCC is the most authentic and it defines what fermented milk should be like without trying to smooothen it out or sweeten it; it just offers the raw experience.

For these reasons, KCC mala is sometimes sour, compared to other brands, I see this as a win because fermented milk is inherently supposed to be sour!

Recently KCC started offering sweetened versions after seeing Brookside who started the trend succeding with it.

2. Brookside

This is just fermented milk like discussed in KCC, Brookside’s Lala is however not so authentic, it is smoothed out and that could be a good thing to some consumers. Brookside Lala has a good balance of texture, and taste, it has come a long way and is an improvement from what it was years ago before rebranding.

It also has a sweetened version, Brookside Sweet Lala, with added sugar. This is the first brand ever to offer mala in a sweetened version, I mean this is okay as most people normally add sugar anyway. The other option is Brookside Natural which doesn’t have added sugars.

From my roots and tradition, that is a capital offense since sweetening fermented milk is an insult to the cow, ”you mean my milk doesn’t taste any good, that you need to sweeten it?” Source: Grandma.