Breakfast in Malindi. Dinner in Milan. This is how Daniel Kirui Njoroge would ideally live his life. He travels a lot, you see. This, travelling, is his love story. He loves Malindi so much so that he, in the past year, has learned how to swim. This is the promise of life as you like it—an unscrolling vista of pleasure and indulgence.
Like a dimension you could slip into, or be sucked into, by an undertow. Why Malindi? Until you are in it, you don’t know; but when you are in it, it’s all that you know. Though he travels a lot, he is actually not a dilettante, but a businessman. He is the Managing Director of Afropack Group, which offers engineered integrated processing and packaging solutions, all done in Italy. Italy, where he borrows his Mediterranean diet and gioia de vivre. Joy of living. With his ease of being, he seems to be able to wear life as a loose overcoat.
“I do not overdo in eating or drinking,” he says. That’s his secret to staying fit, and it could be yours too. Everything in moderation, including moderation.
What's keeping you excited about this holiday season?
Actually, since I'm at the coast, the thing that is actually making me excited at the moment is the real estate here, because it's a generational changeover. I'm finding it interesting because many at the coast, especially Malindi, have a lot of Italians, the older generations, who are now trying to sell their properties off to the newcomers. This change of generation is making me understand we have so much potential at the coast, and can bring it back home.
Have you always been a beach person?
I consider myself a beach person. I like the sunshine, I like the weather and the Indian Ocean.
Did you grow up around the beach back in the day?
I grew up in Nairobi with its coldness. Then I went to school in Murang’a and Nyeri . Back then, for me, the coast was only for the people who had money.
When you're planning a holiday, are you trying to recreate your childhood memories or find new ones?
I try to find new ones. What I normally try to do is to visit new places, a new country or city, so that I can try to understand it better. This is the second time in four years that I'm actually going to spend my holidays in Kenya.
Everyone has their own version of holiday stress. What’s yours?
The phone calls. We always have to be connected. You always have to check your phone because during the year, you're always on the phone and everything. So when you're relaxed, maybe you receive only two phone calls, and you start asking yourself what’s wrong?
How then do you permit yourself to rest?
I'll be honest with you, I have really struggled with that. And this is actually the first year that I'm going to do that because all the past years, I've always been pushing work during the Christmas holidays because we normally have deliveries of some equipment. But this is now my me-time, and I am intentional about keeping it that way.
What's a family holiday ritual that you've carried into adulthood?
Goat-eating ceremony around Christmas time. I got that from my parents and uncles, and I tend to carry it along.
What sort of activities put you at ease during the festive season?
I love to swim, I love the water, so even sitting down in the swimming pool or maybe in the ocean, having the waves beat against your feet is therapeutic. I recommend it.
How long have you been swimming?
A year. I'm not a good swimmer, but I've decided to do these things, and next year I'm going to start playing golf. I'm trying to do these strange sports that push me past the normal boundaries.
If you could take only one swimmer's ritual into the new year, what would it be?
When you wake up in the morning and you're feeling a bit clammy, enter the water.
What do you want to leave behind in 2025?
The belief that I cannot make it. It's something that has accompanied me during the whole year, and especially during the difficult times, that everything is going to work out.
What are you most proud of this year?
The connections and networks that I've made. That is one thing. Can I also say I'm actually proud of being featured by the Business Daily for the first time in my entire business career [chuckles]? And the third thing is the award that I received an awars-- the CEO to Watch of the Year in the Top 100 Executive List Awards. Those are the three highlights of the year that I cherish.
What is one resolution you made yourself that you are proud of accomplishing or having kept?
The one thing that I told myself is that I have to risk it all. And I did that. I made the right choice. I went to Nigeria for two months; it was not easy.
Do you always travel alone?
Most of the time, yeah. But for this part, for the second part of the year, I travel with my family.
Do you get lonely?
No, I don't. Funnily enough, I was in boarding school since I was a kid. So I'm very much used to that kind of life. It's only you and you.
Do you still have a thirst for travelling?
I do. Because when you travel, your brain really opens up. That gets me quite excited.
How has travel changed over the years?
Travel has changed a lot. I was actually considering this when talking to my mum the other day. For her, she doesn't understand why someone can take around 50-60 flights per year, which is one or two flights every month. It has become a common thing because flights are no longer that expensive, making it simpler to travel around. You can have breakfast in Malindi and dinner in Italy.
Do you ever worry about your carbon footprint?
Yes, I do.
But?
But, as I said, we are supposed to actually start small. Beginning with the simple things that we do in our homes. For example, since I come from packaging, I find it highly unusual for people to continue buying things in plastic bottles rather than converting to recyclable materials, which leaves a lesser impact on the community and the environment.
Are you keeping a diet over the holidays?
I try not to overdo eating or drinking. But I have a regular diet. Thankfully, I'm from the Italian school, which is a Mediterranean diet. So, that keeps me fit. For me, holidays don’t mean overindulging in food and drinks, but it's actually a time to relax your body, your mind, and everything.
What are you looking forward to doing most this period?
I'm looking to spend more time with family.
Summarise your year with a song, a food, a bird, an animal.
It's Chris Brown’s ‘Holy Blindfold.’ The idea is that when you are blindfolded and you close your eyes, you have to trust in instinct.
What has been this year's most unexpected gift?
Kindness.
From yourself or strangers?
No, from people that I would never have expected. Kindness and recognition. I must say it's like that.
How are you stepping into the new year?
I'm entering 2026 with a blast. I'll be much more rested and energetic moving forward. Whatever I do this year, I’ll double it next year.
What have you finally stopped chasing in 2025?
I'm chasing everything at the moment. Let me be honest [chuckles]. I'm still young, so all the doors on my side are still open, and I know I can make it, so I'll see it through.
Well, rather, what have you stopped trying to control?
What people think about me.
What success metric no longer defines you?
A major recognition internationally.
What have you forgiven yourself for this year?
Not being able to be there for some people who expected me to be there. I've come to learn that I can't be everywhere at the same time.
What are you thanking yourself for?
I'm thanking myself for being a better version of myself than the person I was two to three years ago.
And how does that person look like now?
That person is funny enough, he's still a kid who is learning and gets interested in the simple things in life.
