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In 100 years:
85 million loaves
By Naomi Gunasekara
When K. A. Charles Perera left his hometown in Kodagoda in
1888 with an ambition to succeed in life, he may not have dreamt
of laying a foundation for a bakery business that would last a lifetime.
But consciously or unconsciously that is exactly what he did. Perera
and Sons Bakers, founded by Charles Perera has lasted more than
a lifetime withstanding all tests of time to mark a 100 years of
baking excellence as the foremost baker and caterer in Sri Lanka.
Established
in 1902, Perera and Sons Bakers, is the largest bakery in Sri Lanka,
producing over 75,000 bakery products including nearly 150 birthday
cakes per day and attracting over 15,000-20,000 customers daily.
Run by the fourth generation today, the business consists of 58
outlets and three bakeries. And during its 100 years of service,
it has produced over 85 million loaves of bread and used over 60
million kilos of flour, 31 million kilos of butter and margarine,
42 million kilos of vegetable, fish and meat, 150 million eggs and
40 million kilos of sugar.
The bakery,
which employs over 300 employees directly and some 400 employees
indirectly, has grown from a small-scale bakery producing bread,
pastries, cakes and other sweets with a brick oven to a modern bakery
providing everything from sandwich bread to bran bread, pastries
to fruit tarts, sandwiches to cutlets and butter cookies to iced
coffee. "My great-grandfather had come to Colombo with only
50 cents and worked as a cook for many years before establishing
the company," said fourth-generation Managing Director Gihan
Perera, who spoke to The Sunday Times despite his busy schedules.
Domestic
cook
Having worked as a cook in colonial-style mansions in Colombo,
Charles Perera joined the Grand Oriental Hotel as a helper to the
cooks. Realising that the grand old ladies of the British Empire
were getting bored with local food peppered with spices, Charles
Perera offered to bake bread for the hotel. After 10 years of service
at the hotel and with expertise in baking bread and buns, making
pastries and fruit tarts, he had left the hotel to establish his
own bakery in Kollupitiya. "He had a great helper called Anthony
baas, who helped him to bake in an old heated tin," said Gihan
Perera sharing his family history with a sense of pride.
Business
split
When the business grew, Charles Perera stopped carrying his
products in a "paan pettiya" that were sold to high society
ladies who strolled on the Galle Face Green in the evenings and
absorbed sons Gilbert, Richard and Albert into the business. In
the late 1950s the business, which included a printing press and
newspaper, split among the brothers and Gihan Perera's grandfather,
Albert, bought the bakery for Rs. 2,000 from Charles Perera. In
1968, following the demise of Albert Perera, his son Sarath Kodagoda
assumed duties along with sisters Suneetha, Rukmini, Shreema and
Shanthi.
1986 was the
turning point in the history of the company when the Kodagoda siblings
took a timely decision, having completed 30 years of service, to
allow the fourth generation to take over the business. "That
was a major family decision," said Gihan Perera, who took over
a company with a Rs. 24 million turnover in 1986 and transformed
it into a Rs. 300 million turnover company towards the end of last
year.
Avowed mission
With a mission to become a socially responsible organisation
committed to provide excellent, innovative and quality food and
beverage services to delight the customer through a dedicated and
competent team, Perera and Sons Bakers has moved away from the traditional
bakery concept with the infusion of young blood into the business
to explore related avenues of business.
"Somewhere
down the line everybody in Sri Lanka has patronised Perera and Sons
at least once. That is an achievement and a huge challenge for the
future because I will have to lay a foundation for the next 100
years," said Gihan Perera who has increased production by tenfold
to meet market demands with the establishment of the new bakery
at Rajagiriya. "We think ahead and plan our future. In fact,
the generator we purchased when we constructed the Rajagiriya bakery
ran out of capacity only at the beginning of this year. That is
a classic case of thinking far and we hope to go on for another
100 years."
Wide range
The bakery had originally catered to the segment of the market
that needed bakery products when bread, "malu paan" and
"mas paan" had a tremendous demand. During this period
too, however, those who reached Perera and Sons Bakers for cakes
were not turned down. "We have been doing birthday cakes for
the past 50 years or more. But now we realise that people want a
sort of one stop shop for bakery products. So we have been able
to incorporate eclairs and cookies as an extension of our product
line."
This year,
two branches of Perera and Sons Bakers - Havelock Road and Duplication
Road - introduced takeaway lunch and dinner under the "Curry
Bone" label in order to cater to the growing market demand.
Curry Bone had been one of the company's original businesses and
the management has decided re-launch it to meet changing market
demands. "It was a natural extension of our business. We cater
to everybody and it is not an easy thing to do. So we have to have
products to suit all, from a schoolboy who has Rs. 10-15 to the
middle-class employees and the elite."
Professional
managers
From rice to hoppers, kottu and stringhoppers, Curry Bone provides
a variety of traditional Sri Lankan dishes to the consumer and the
company plans to introduce this concept to other outlets too. "This
market-orientation and changes that occur in terms of expansion
are a result of introducing professional managers into what was
a family venture," says Gihan Perera who feels that the family
business environment sometimes proves to be detrimental to the growth
of a company. "We only take the best now; people who not only
have the skill but the ability to fit into the organisation. The
organisation fit is very important for us because we are too big
to have misfits."
Corporate
planning
"We have our annual corporate planning sessions to consider
where we want to be in the coming years. In 1994 we wanted to be
the biggest bakery chain in Sri Lanka and have 58 outlets today.
Once achieving this we started looking at ourselves in a different
perspective and this has helped our growth tremendously." A
problem with most companies, according to Gihan Perera is their
failure to change their mission and vision statements once the set
missions/visions are achieved. "With the hype about the new
millennium we considered where we were and without trying to stick
to the bakery business, looked beyond for a future as a food and
beverage provider."
With its altered
mission and vision statements, Perera and Sons Bakers now plan to
enter the hospitality and leisure industry soon. "We have our
own reception hall, The Golden Lotus in Malabe. Although it is generally
not in line with the work of a bakery, we hold wedding receptions,
parties and seminars and do the catering for some of the top companies
in Sri Lanka."
New bakeries
In order to expand its bakery chain, Perera and Sons Bakers
has established bakeries in Kotahena and Kurunegala. "We found
out that it was not feasible to deliver from Colombo to the outskirts.
So we are looking at establishing bakeries out of Colombo. By September
we will have our own bakery in Kandy and we have already commenced
discussions to establish one in Matara." In addition to establishing
a chain of bakeries in the outskirts, Perera and Sons Bakers is
considering the option of a tie-up with an India company. "We
did the initial survey and looked at how well Sri Lankan products
will be received in Bangalore. This will be an ideal opportunity
to promote our skills in another country. One of our best products,
the bruedher is sent to England and Australia every year. Even Australia
is not beyond us anymore. There is a huge Sri Lankan population
in Melbourne and Sydney. There is always a possibility."
Stiff competition
In a fiercely competitive business environment, Perera and
Sons Bakers too faces their share of competition. Strangely, however,
according to Gihan Perera this competition does not come from large-scale
bakers but local bakers. "When we go to the outskirts we get
competition from the local bakers who have been providing the village
with bakery products. Most of them look at us and think that they
can be like us. That is fair enough and that should go on because
competition keeps us on our toes." In retrospect, Gihan Perera
feels that the company's strength has been family unity and the
contribution of his grandmother who was a unifying force. "She
was a great strength to all of us and helped us weather all storms."
Another success factor according to him is the contribution made
by the company's employees. "Our people have made us and it
is a great challenge to keep motivating them. We will felicitate
all of them and recognise their services during celebrations."
Having increased
company profit tenfold since he took over in 1986, Gihan Perera
is determined to lay a solid foundation to help the company progress
for another 100 years. "It is a very emotional moment and my
heart skips a few beats as we celebrate 100 years of service. This
is a great achievement not many companies in Sri Lanka or the world
over can be proud of. The Kellogg's School of Business Studies had
done a survey according to which only 14 percent of family companies
survive for 50 years and three percent grow in those years. We have
managed to do both, so I would say that we are in a very elite category
and I am happy to be part of it," he said with much emotion.
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Vanilla
ice cream for SWRD
S. A. D. Samaranayaka is a happy man. While his company celebrated
100 years of service last week, he was preparing himself to
celebrate 50 years of service in a couple of weeks. Having
left his paddy fields and farming work in 1952 to become a
driver at Perera and Sons Bakers, Samaranayaka makes ice coffee
and eclairs today.
Going
on 80, steady and healthy, he still gets up at 2 am to prepare
eclairs and other sweets, he confided. "I used to make
ice cream and jujups too. But the company stopped the ice
cream line in the late 1970s when there was a scarcity of
sugar."
One of
his favourite places of delivery was Temple Trees where he
delivered one or two litres of vanilla ice cream every fortnight.
"I used to take ice cream to Temple Trees during Prime
Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike's time. We also did the
catering when five prime ministers came to Sri Lanka. It was
a grand event."
Having
driven a van for four years, Samaranayaka started making sweets
in 1956. "One of the managers taught me how to do it
and gave me all the ingredients. I did make mistakes at the
beginning. But I learnt," he said with a triumphant smile.
Remembering
the changes that took place during his almost 50-year service
sporadically, he recalled the strike that took place in 1969.
"We didn't work for three months and a case was filed.
The judge ordered the payment of wages for one month but we
were paid wages for three months and additional month's wage
as bonus. We were very happy," he said adding that he
would like to retire soon.
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Gopallawa
and the gullas
He is a man who has pedalled all of Colombo in a tricycle
in the late 1950s, delivering bread and buns to the Colombo
elite. His tricycle has not only gone through the gardens
of colonial-style mansions where British ladies had buns and
cake for evening tea but also the 'Raja Gedara' (President's
House). "I had to deliver white bread in the mornings
and bran bread in the evenings to the Raja Gedara twice a
week," said 66-year-old R. A. B. Senarathne who counts
46 years of service at Perera and Sons Bakers. He fondly remembers
the times spent delivering bread and pastries.
A simple,
unassuming man full of nostalgia, Senarathne vividly remembers
his evenings spent at the President's House because he got
an opportunity to meet President William Gopallawa. "I
used to go upstairs and place the bread on a table,"
he said recalling what followed with a thin smile parting
his lips. "Then Gopallawa mahaththaya would slice the
bread and look for gullas (weevil) with a magnifying glass
and return the bread if there were any." But the white
bread did not have to pass the magnifying glass test, he said,
"because they were meant for the servants.
Delivering
bread and pastries at a time when they were a luxury, Senarathne
feels content with the work he did during those years. "I
used to sell over 100 loaves of bread a day. The demand was
good and we had about 30 delivering on tricycles. There were
no vehicles on the roads those days and it was easy to deliver
goods. Besides, most parts of the city were covered with thick
jungle, especially Colpetty."
Senarathne,
who has been on delivery from 1956 to 1986, is at present
employed as a peon. "I remember when I say Colpetty,"
he smiled recalling how he met with an accident in the late
1960s. Senarathne's tricycle had collided with a car driven
by a "Muslim Nona" and he was taken to the Colpetty
police station. "I was worried. But the nona felt sorry
and gave me Rs. 10 to get the wounds treated."
Paid
two cents per day, Christmas was a time looked forward to
by most of the delivery boys who were handsomely rewarded
by the elite folk for delivering loaves of paper-wrapped bread
throughout the year. "We never collected money. The amounts
were entered into a book and the embassy crowd bought most
of the bread. But during Christmas we were given money by
the missies," he said.
Although
the demand for bread came mostly from the Colombo elite, the
army had confiscated the bread during the war. "I think
the company was paid money but we got scared." Recalling
his experiences as a delivery boy, he said, "We delivered
bread during the 1958 troubles and Tamil people bought a lot
of bread because of the food shortage."
Completing
46 years of service this year, Senarathne is happy with the
work he has done through the years. "My children are
married and I have no worries. I will retire soon," he
said with a content smile.
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Ceylon
tea brands enter Chinese market
Ceylon tea brands such as Mlesna, Stassen, and Impra
have entered the Chinese market where a new upper middle class created
by economic liberalisation and a growing number of young people
are getting attracted to imported orthodox black tea.
The potential for good black tea consumption is "bright"
in China, which is the world's second largest tea producer, a Tea
Board statement said.
The board is
helping tea exporters to expand their market share in Kazakhstan
where tea is known to be consumed only as a hot drink, it also said.
China mainly
produces green tea, which accounts for 72 percent of output and
Oolong tea, around 20 percent of production. Black tea production
accounts for only eight percent of output.
With China's
formal accession to the World Trade Organisation, there is potential
for growth in the food supply chain there.
Sri Lanka tea
companies who have already found a place in the Chinese tea market
will have more opportunities to expand their business in the coming
years, the Tea Board statement said.
The Tea Board's
promotional activities helped Ceylon tea brands enter the Chinese
market, which was closed for foreign tea until the late 1990s, it
said.
One key promotional
element of the Tea Board is participation at reputed international
food and beverage fairs in China, it said.
The Tea Board
also will participate at the "Food and Hotel China", another
food and beverage trade fair to be held in Shanghai in September.
Tea exporters
also took part at last month's Food Expo Trade Fair held in Almaty,
Kazakhstan, the board said.
In Kazakhstan,
unlike in other CIS countries, tea is traditionally consumed with
milk giving rise to preferential demand for CTC and BOP types of
tea with strong liquor, the statement said.
Overall tea
consumption in the country is estimated to be 24,000 MT a year.
India's CTC teas account for about 70 percent of the total tea market
while orthodox tea accounts for the balance 30 percent.
Sri Lanka with
a volume of about 4,500 MT has a market share of 20 percent in the
Kazakhstan tea market.
"However,
the prevailing customs duty of 10 percent on import of pre-packed
teas, as against zero duty for bulk tea, stands as a barrier for
promotion of value added teas from Sri Lanka into this market,"
the board said.
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