Glass House PR, a leading public relations and strategic communications agency, has released the 2025 Brand Trust Report, a landmark national study examining how trust shapes consumer behaviour, corporate reputation, and public service delivery in Kenya.

The report, grounded in responses from a youthful, urban, and digitally savvy population, provides one of the most detailed snapshots to date of the evolving trust landscape across industries, government services, and national brands.

Survey findings reveal a Kenya where trust is the currency of choice, with 87.75% of respondents saying trust is either extremely important or very important when deciding which brands to engage with.

The report captures insights from individuals aged primarily between 18 and 44, who collectively make up 85% of respondents, reflecting the country’s demographic reality and its growing base of millennial and Gen Z consumers.

Across all sectors assessed, Safaricom emerged as Kenya’s most trusted and most interacted-with brand, commanding an overwhelming 87.2% mention rate, more than double any other brand in the study.

This dominance is driven by the company’s integration into daily life through M-Pesa, mobile data, and customer experience.

Other top-performing brands include:

• Colgate (38.5%) – strongest in personal hygiene
• Airtel (24.5%) – rising competitor in data services
• Equity Bank (19.5%) and KCB (13.5%) – leading financial institutions
• Bolt (19%) and Uber (14.3%) – most trusted in digital transportation
• Ketepa (17.3%) and Soko (15.8%) – top food and beverage performers

Also Read: Report: 125 Kenyans Own More Than the Rest of the Country Combined

Glass House PR Founder and CEO Highlights

Glass House PR Founder and CEO, Mary Njoki, said the local brands continue to hold cultural power, with 42.5% of respondents saying they trust local brands more, compared to 32.5% who prefer international ones.

“However, 18.75% distrust both, showing a more critical consumer base,” she says.

The report highlights strong consumer engagement with telecommunications (44.7%), retail (41.4%), banking (32%), and technology (31.6%).

Technology is Kenya’s most trusted industry overall, securing 62.6% high-trust ratings, followed by tourism (61.7%) and agriculture (58.5%).

Factors Influencing Trust

Top factors influencing trust include:

• Quality of products and services (75.9%)
• Customer service (61.9%)
• Transparency (61.9%)

By contrast, CSR and media coverage scored much lower at 13.2% and 11.5%, respectively, signaling that Kenyans prioritise proven performance over reputational rhetoric without tangible evidence.

Govt Institutions Trust Levels

Treating government institutions as brands, the report reveals that:

• Transportation (47.3%) and education (46.2%) are the most trusted public services.
• Security services face significant skepticism, with 26.1% rating them poorly.
• Revenue and taxation (KRA) is among the least trusted, with 28.2% low-trust ratings.
• The eCitizen platform scored the highest single rating at 32.5% among neutral users, but only 32.5% give it high trust, citing concerns around reliability and user experience.

Key drivers of trust in government include efficiency (24.6%), transparency (23.5%), accessibility (20.3%), and service quality (16.3%).

A strong 72.7% of Kenyan organisations describe trust as “extremely important,” with 81.1% emphasising quality and 66.7% customer service as core trust builders.

One in three organisations has faced a trust crisis in the last five years, primarily due to service failures.

Also Read: Where Kenya’s Top CEOs Get Their Business Funding

Companies benchmark against industry giants like Safaricom and Apple, with 93.8% citing consistency and 84.4% citing staff training as central to maintaining trust.

“Trust is no longer a soft value; it is a business asset. Kenyan consumers reward brands that are authentic, transparent, and human-centred.

The future belongs to brands that do more than perform. They must stand for something.

Ethical branding is emerging as a competitive advantage, urging organisations to embed integrity and transparency into their operations,” concludes Njoki.

How The 2025 Brand Trust Report Was Developed

The 2025 Brand Trust Report was developed through a mixed-methods research approach designed to capture a comprehensive and accurate view of Kenya’s evolving trust landscape.

The study combined quantitative surveys administered to a nationally representative sample of urban, tech-savvy consumers with qualitative insights gathered from industry experts and behavioural trend analysis.

Sector selection was guided by three criteria: industries with the highest consumer interaction, sectors with significant influence on daily life, and categories experiencing notable digital or economic transformation.

This ensured a balanced, relevant, and data-driven framework for evaluating trust across brands, industries, and public services.

The final report synthesises these inputs to provide actionable insights for organisations seeking to build, sustain, or recover trust in an increasingly discerning market.

Follow our WhatsApp Channel and WhatsApp Community for instant news updates

Kenya’s Most Trusted Top Brands in one Photo. PHOTO/ File