Britannia explores Sri Lankan re-entry
View(s):Britannia Industries Ltd, an Indian food-products corporation based in Kolkata is aiming to return to the Sri Lankan market, officials said.
“We had a presence in Sri Lanka some years ago and now we are planning a re-entry. The fundamentals of the economy are great. That’s what attracts us,” Manjunath Desai, company Vice President Strategy and Business Development told the Business Times in a telephone interview from India.
The company had decided to withdraw from the operations in Sri Lanka a few years ago as they were not found to be viable.
Mr. Desai said they’re studying the nature of the Sri Lankan market at present. “We want to see whether it’s a premium or value market and we’re in the middle of getting that information,” he said, adding they plan to set up a factory if all goes as planned. Britannia’s Sri Lankan entry six years ago was through manufacturing facilities of Luckyland Biscuit Manufacturers (which is owned by the family of the world class spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan at Kundasale in Kandy) and the distribution was carried out by J.L. Morrison. Mr. Desai said that Sri Lanka is in Britannia’s larger road map towards entering the SAARC region. Britannia is the number two market share in India, below Parle Products, which has a 35 per cent, according to industry data.
Sri Lanka’s biscuit consumption volume in the country is some 75,000 metric tons per annum and its value is around Rs.20 billion according to local industry data.