Well, well, well here we have Royco, a brand that just dropped some fresh additions to their lineup.
They’ve unleashed 4 blends, 7 pure spices, and a grand total of 11 new products from the event. Quite the spread, right?
Royco has always been the blend guru, but now they’re throwing pure spices into the mix, ready to take on the likes of Tropical Heat, who’ve been owning the pure spice game.
Kudos to Royco for teaming up with Njoro Canning in Nakuru for the processing of these new spices and spice blends thus giving the local already crawling economy a little boost.
For those not in the know, Royco, the Unilever-backed spice brand in Kenya, is the secret weapon for those who can’t cook to save their lives.
It’s been a blend of various spices for eons, but come October 2023, they’ve got a shiny new product lineup. We’ll dive into each of these newcomers individually and serve up a separate review for each, stay tuned!
Now, Royco’s OG roster features the classics: Beef, Chicken, Tomato Ginger, and garlic Seasoning Powders, along with Beef and chicken Cubes.
But here comes the new squad:
- Paprika
- Turmeric
- Black Pepper
- Cardamom
- Cinnamon
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Pilau Masala
- Curry & Spice
- Nyama Choma
- Spice For Wet & Dry Fry
The listings from number 1 to 7 are actually pure spices extracted from the respective plants, you can learn more about all those spices in this earlier post
Spice Essentials For Your Kenyan Kitchen: A Comprehensive Guide
Opinions on the New Spices
Well for the pure spices, Royco has done a pretty good job, not excellent but just good. They really have a good market research team, and most of the 7 spices launched are kind of the essentials in any Kenyan Kitchen.
However, cardamom, they have me a little confused. It is not a commonly used spice here, unless for baking mostly, and for making mahamri.
Speaking of mahamri, you might wanna check out my cardamom mahamri recipe, so that you can surprise your family with that on the next weekend’s breakfast.
Back to Royco pure spices, I feel it would be nice if they substituted cardamom for cumin, which is heavily used in most recipes and especially in the Coastal & Swahili cuisines.
Now for the spice blends, pilau masala is the most important and common spice blend in Kenya.
I’m really impressed they had that there. It is actually retailing at a very affordable price compared to existing brands which is a neat bargain for now.
Curry & Spice, I feel like that does what curry powder normally does, for now, it is an assumption, full review on all the new spices will be posted later.
The two spice blends I’m genuinely excited about and wanna try are the Nyama Choma and the spice for dry & wet fry. I just love how Royco blends with the local styles of cooking. (Pun unintended)
The tubs are half full which may be infuriating to many consumers, but hey, the weight is as advertised so it is alright.
Dry & wet fry are just the most Kenyan ways of cooking, can’t think of anything better, (even outside the context)
Royco finally decided to go all out. From seasonings only to a full-fledged spice exhibition. They’ve come a long way from just beef cubes and seasoning powders, that’s for sure.
More than half of Kenyan households use the Royco spice blends so adoption for this will be a success as the name Royco has sat very well with Kenyans for over half a century.
FAQs
What are the effects of Royco? When using Royco cubes don’t add extra salt, since the cubes have a high salt content and thus high sodium levels which may exceed the recommended daily amount
Is Royco cubes good for your health? They are way salty, which is bad for your health but they have essential mineral fortifications, so Royco cubes are both healthy and unhealthy, use in moderation
Does Royco cause ulcers and cancer? There has been no link that Royco cubes or mchuzi mix cause complications, they are generally safe products to use.
Relevant Links
Essentials: Pantry & Fridge Staples in Kenya
Spice Essentials For Your Kenyan Kitchen: A Comprehensive Guide
