A section of greengrocers in Thika's Majengo Estate have invented new ways of staying relevant in business amid the cut-throat competition.
A walking to various greengroceries in the estate will present a new picture of the way things are being done, which is a complete departure from the past.
For instance it is now possible to buy almost everything from the groceries when it is ready for cooking.
The operators attribute the new development to competition and the changing status of populations in Thika town.
"Few years ago you could just get your greens straight from the market, stock them in the kiosk and sell them that way. Today, it is hard to sell a single unit of anything the way you brought it from the market. Customers want ready-to-cook food," Mercy Wangari, who has been a grocer in the estate for seven years, said on Tuesday.
Leah Wambui another grocer said: "Most of my customers unlike before. Now a majority of them are students and working people who have little time to sit down and cut kale or peel potatoes. They prefer when I do it for them".
Stephen Muya, an ICT graduate from Mount Kenya University says with the current competition, one has to either shape up or ship out.
"You see when men learnt to shoot without aiming, birds learnt to fly without perching," said Muya, borrowing a quote from Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart.
He added: "You have to change with the times, tastes and trends. That is what we are doing".