Influence of Food Quality on Customer Loyalty in Selected Fast-Food Restaurants in Nairobi County, Kenya

Food quality is central to restaurant patronage because customers evaluate fast-food establishments through the sensory and functional performance of the core meal product. Despite the rapid expansion of Nairobi County's fast-food market, evidence remains limited on the extent to which food quality independently shapes customer loyalty within franchised and chained restaurants. This article examined the relationship between food quality and customer loyalty in selected fast-food restaurants in Nairobi County, Kenya. The study adopted a pragmatist philosophy and a convergent mixed-methods design. The unit of analysis comprised franchised and chained fast-food restaurants in Nairobi County, while customers and restaurant supervisors were the units of observation. Five sub-counties were selected as clusters, followed by random selection of twelve restaurants from each cluster, yielding sixty restaurants. The study targeted 420 customers and 60 supervisors; 387 customers completed structured questionnaires and 31 supervisors participated in interviews, representing response rates of 92.1% and 51.7%, respectively. The food-quality scale demonstrated strong internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.859), while the customer-loyalty scale was also reliable (alpha = 0.751). Descriptive results showed generally favourable perceptions of food quality (M = 3.88, SD = 1.019). Taste and aroma received the highest rating (M = 4.62, SD = 0.502), whereas consistency of food quality across visits recorded the lowest mean (M = 3.51, SD = 0.996). Pearson correlation established a strong, positive and statistically significant relationship between food quality and customer loyalty (r = 0.699, p < 0.001). In the direct-effects regression model, food quality remained a significant positive predictor of customer loyalty (B = 0.298, SE = 0.045, β = 0.338, t = 6.606, p < 0.001). Qualitative evidence reinforced the quantitative result: Qualitative evidence reinforced the quantitative findings: all 31 supervisors identified food quality as the foundation of loyalty and emphasized consistency, ingredient quality and freshness, customer taste preferences, and presentation standards. The null hypothesis was rejected. The study concludes that food quality is a decisive loyalty-generating resource in Nairobi County's fast-food sector. The study concludes that food quality is an important factor associated with customer loyalty in Nairobi County's fast-food sector and recommends standardized recipes, routine kitchen quality audits, stronger ingredient controls, staff training, and systematic customer feedback focused specifically on food-quality consistency.