Japan’s Unicharm Corporation has joined Toyota Tsusho and CFAO Kenya in a Sh2 billion company that will make and sell Sofy sanitary products from Nairobi and ship them into neighbouring markets.
Sofy Unicharm East Africa Limited started operations in September 2026. Unicharm holds 75 per cent, Toyota Tsusho 17.5 per cent and CFAO Kenya 7.5 per cent, Business Daily reported. Toyota Tsusho’s Kenyan group includes CFAO Mobility Kenya, which sells Toyota and other vehicle brands.
From imports to local production
Unicharm and CFAO Kenya began importing Sofy Deep Absorb pads from Unicharm’s Egypt plant in 2023. In January 2025 they started local production of Sofy Long Lasting, aimed at lower-priced shoppers. The new company folds product development, manufacturing, sales and marketing into one Kenyan vehicle, with exports to East Africa on the plan.
“The new company will integrate product development, production, sales and marketing in Kenya, with plans to expand the supply and export of sanitary products to neighboring East African markets,” Unicharm president and chief executive Takahisa Takahara said, according to Business Daily. The partners say they are targeting about Sh1.5 billion in revenue and two million women across East Africa by 2030.
Business Now quoted Takahara saying the venture would start with women and could later move into other hygiene lines, including baby care. Unicharm managing director Daigo Fujiwara said the firm wants cheaper packs, menstrual health education and partnerships with communities, government bodies and NGOs. Sofy has worked with JICA, UNFPA and UN Women Kenya on awareness programmes.
How the pads reach shops
CFAO Kenya will handle local sales and distribution through its logistics network. Toyota Tsusho Circular Economy Division CEO Kazuyuki Urata said the trading house was joining because it saw a long-term role in building the business in East Africa. CFAO Group Kenya chair Amb. Dennis Awori said lasting growth depends on products that mix quality, price and availability.
Disposable pads dominate Kenya’s market. The 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey found that 91 per cent of women aged 15 to 49 who were at home during their last period used disposable sanitary pads, and five per cent used reusable ones. Sofy packs are sold in supermarkets, online and neighbourhood shops; Business Daily noted single pads for about Sh10 and small packs near Sh50 in some shops.
