Weekly Shopping Tracker: Cooking Oil, Milk Record Drop in Prices

Note: Cooking oil recorded a drop in price, with the cheapest 2-litre retailing at Ksh281 from Ksh299 last week, as milk drops to Ksh40 per 500ml packet.

If you feel like everyday essentials are getting harder to afford, you're definitely not alone. In recent years, the state of the economy has left many Kenyans worried about the rising cost of living, especially when it comes to food.

According to Statista, about 26% of the Kenyan population lived in extreme poverty in 2024, surviving on less than $2.15 a day. Of that, 12.1 million lived in rural areas, while another 1.9 million were in urban centers.

At Money254, we know that planning your weekly shopping can make a big difference when every shilling counts. That’s why we’ve put together a Weekly Price Tracker — comparing the lowest prices for 10 basic household items across four major supermarkets: Carrefour, Naivas, Quickmart, and Chandarana Foodplus.

Why These Items and How We Track Them

We picked 10 essentials — maize flour, rice, wheat flour, sugar, cooking oil, cooking fat, milk, bread, toilet paper, and eggs — because they’re the backbone of most household shopping lists every week.

When comparing prices, we focus on the lowest available options, regardless of brand or packaging. Our goal is simple: to help you stretch your budget further by showing you the most affordable deals.

For now, our tracker focuses on the four leading retailers in Nairobi. All prices are in Kenya Shillings (Ksh)

Price Comparison for 10 Basic Goods

Maize Flour

Here we are tracking prices for the 2-kilogram packet, which ranged between Ksh145 and Ksh153.

Naivas - Ksh149

Quickmart - Ksh152

Carrefour - Ksh153

Chandarana Foodplus - Ksh145

Rice

Here, we concentrated on the 2-kilogram packet, which retailed at above Ksh265 in all the outlets.

Naivas - Ksh265

Quickmart - Ksh307

Carrefour - Ksh269

Chandarana Foodplus - Ksh306

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Baking/Wheat Flour

For this, our eye was on the 2-kilogram packet, which retailed for between Ksh147 and Ksh158.

Naivas - Ksh150

Quickmart - Ksh155

Carrefour - Ksh158

Chandarana Foodplus - Ksh147

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Sugar

For this, we concentrated on the 2-kilogram packet, which retailed between Ksh345 and Ksh350.

Naivas - Ksh349

Quickmart - Ksh350

Carrefour - Ksh345

Chandarana Foodplus - Ksh350

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Cooking Oil

For this, we concentrated on the 1-litre, which retailed at between Ksh281 and Ksh329.

Naivas - Ksh299

Quickmart - Ksh281

Carrefour - Ksh319

Chandarana Foodplus - Ksh329

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Cooking Fat

Here, we concentrated on the 1-kg, which retailed at between Ksh342 and Ksh377.

Naivas - Ksh350

Quickmart - Ksh377

Carrefour - Ksh343

Chandarana Foodplus - Ksh335

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Milk

Here, we concentrated on the 500ml packet, which retailed at between Ksh40 and Ksh47.

Naivas - Ksh40

Quickmart - Ksh46

Carrefour - Ksh47

Chandarana Foodplus - Ksh45

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Bread

Here, we concentrated on the 400g packet, which retailed at between Ksh53 and Ksh65.

Naivas - Ksh53

Quickmart - Ksh65

Carrefour - Ksh54

Chandarana Foodplus - Ksh65

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Toilet Paper

Here we concentrated on two pairs (bundled as 4), which retailed at between Ksh132 and Ksh149.

Naivas - Ksh149

Quickmart - Ksh144

Carrefour - Ksh132

Chandarana Foodplus - Ksh144

‍

Eggs

Here, we concentrated on the tray, which retailed at between Ksh495 and Ksh600.

Naivas - Ksh580

Quickmart - Ksh600

Carrefour - Ksh495

Chandarana Foodplus - Ksh595