Since its inception in the year 1946, The House of Maliban has been in the industry for over 60 years, which makes it the giant in the biscuit and milk manufacturing sectors in the country.
The family-run business, which started off as a small teashop by its founder Mr. A.G Hinniappuhamy later developed into a bakery, which manufactured handmade biscuits.
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| From Left to Right Mr. A.G. Wimalasiri, Senior Director, Mr. Lakshman Weerasuriya, Group CEO and Mr. Ariyasiri Withanage, Marketing Consultant handing over the only melamine checking machine in Sri Lanka to his Excellency the President Mr. Mahinda Rajapaske |
In the early 1950's, a time when the country's entire biscuit requirement was imported from Europe, Mr. Hinniappuhamy was bold enough to invest in a biscuit-manufacturing machine, which he imported from the UK. With his vision firmly set on competing with other international products, Mr. Hinniappuhamy set the foundation for a small business which would one day create a family run empire and forever change the country's biscuit industry. Currently Maliban is sold in around 25 countries, which includes Australia, UK, US and other European counties etc.
The Sunday Times spoke to Mr. Lakshman Weerasuriya, Group CEO and Mr. Ravi Jayawardena, CEO (Sales and Marketing) of Maliban to find out more about the company's future goals and plans.
"Give the consumer the superior taste, with the best quality at an affordable price" was the vision of the founder Chairman Mr.A.G.Hinniappuhamy. What differentiates Maliban products from the others is our policy to ensure that all our products are suitable for consumer consumption. The family members initially taste all the products that are manufactured before being given the green light to deliver to the market. This policy is still adhered to and has become a tradition that we all follow. All Maliban ingredients are natural and of the best quality, which is why, it is superior to any other", says Mr. Weerasuriya.
Despite the market being fiercely competitive, Maliban products are priced reasonably even though the company adheres to a stringent manufacturing process where superior product quality is always its prime goal. For example the Maliban Cheese Bit biscuits are manufactured using the best Cheese from Australia; the chocolate biscuits are manufactured using the world's best cocoa from Ghana and Ecuador etc. Maliban believes in maintaining a long-term business with its consumers, which is why quality has always been embedded in the Maliban product range.
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| Mr. Ravi Jayawardena, CEO (Sales and Marketing) of Maliban |
The famous children's brand, Maliban Gold Marie is enriched with vitamins A, B, D and E. These vitamins are imported from the world's best vitamin manufacturer in Switzerland. The Maliban Cream Cracker, which is another one of the company's revolutionary products, cannot be matched by any other cracker product due to its manufacturing process.
"To increase output and to achieve more crispiness other biscuit manufacturers use excess chemicals. However down the line this will definitely have adverse effects on ones health. It is not our intention to bring out an unhealthy nation, that is why we select the best natural ingredients when it comes to the manufacturing of any Maliban product.
I would like to make it clear to our nation that as we are certified with food and safety (ISO22000) it is our main objective to go through hazard analysis in respect to all our raw materials and processors to find out any discrepancies", further stated Mr. Weerasuriya.
Speaking on the company's initiatives to take the Maliban brand name forward Mr. Jayawardena said, "We are currently in the process of conducting extensive research with regards to improving our communications with our customers. We are aware that our products are superior in quality and therefore want to get this message across to a wider audience. Also, we extensively conduct marketing research to identify need gaps in the market and thereby introduce products to satisfy our consumers.
BISCUIT INNOVATIONS
"Innovations and quality is my religion" is the belief of the current Chairman of Maliban Mr. A.G. Rathnapala Samaraweera. Staying in line to that Maliban Biscuits, during the past seven months has introduced seven new products to the market, which includes ones such as Snackers, Sorties, Maliban Banana and three different crackers. Our new launches are based on a need gap that prevails in the current market."
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| Mr. Lakshman Weerasuriya, Group CEO of Maliban |
MAKE A BORING CATEGORY
AN EXCITING ONE…
Having realized for instance that Sri Lanka's cream cracker market is quite dull, we decided to give consumers a different cracker experience and introduced three exciting and innovative ranges namely the Fun Cracker, Classic Cracker and Vegy Cracker (with natural vegetable) backed by very attention grabbing advertising where Mr. Sunil Perera from the Gypsies performed. To date, all the three variants have achieved a significant growth.
1st time in Sri Lanka
"The Maliban Tasty Banana biscuit, one of the company's latest innovations to its product portfolio is manufactured using over one million local bananas monthly from the Embilipitiya and Monaragala areas.
The Maliban Tasty Banana biscuit is the first biscuit in Sri Lanka to be manufactured using natural bananas. This product has also greatly assisted the banana farmer families, providing them with a sustainable source of income. We are extremely grateful for our consumers who have fueled our growth. Actually speaking we are selling 300% more than our initial estimates.
MALIBAN AS A "TRUE SRI LANKAN.."
As everyone knows, spanning a proud history of over half a century, Maliban is today a household name and has grown from its humble beginnings to become a formidable player in the foods industry. Maliban has being ranked among the Most Respected Entities in Sri Lanka, and as a corporate entity it is very important to occupy that position in the customer's mind.
This cannot be achieved overnight, Maliban continues to provide high quality products at reasonable prices which is backed by good corporate governance spanning over six decades to achieve this position" said Mr. Jayawardena.
With the melamine scare becoming a fear factor especially with regards to biscuits and milk products the House of Maliban stepped forward to assist the government by donating the country's very first melamine testing machine to the President of Sri Lanka.
Although the company gives very little publicity on its CSR initiatives it is very much involved in this area. One of Maliban's latest CSR efforts is the 'Buddhi Prabodaya' programme , where the company is planning to give more than 300 computers within the next 12 months to enhance IT knowledge of future Sri Lankans.
As the first step of this worthy cause, Maliban donated over 1.5 million rupees worth of computers to selected schools in Kandy, with the intention of spreading IT knowledge to students in schools in the rural areas.
In the future the company hopes to identify schools, which lack the required IT resources and help them through the 'Buddhi Prabodaya' programme.
When purchasing any pack of Maliban biscuits a certain percentage have been allocated towards the Buddi Prabodaya programme. Also when purchasing any Maliban milk product a certain percentage will be donated towards releasing cattle from slaughterhouses, where they will be given to selected farmer families, which are recommended by the village priests.
MALIBAN MILK PRODUCTS
Having understood that to survive today's market being innovative is key; Maliban diversified into other avenues of production, where Maliban Milk became the company's other highly successful business venture.
Maliban Milk Powder is a product concept done in collaboration with Murray Goulburn Coorperative Company Ltd, Australia. Murray Goulburnn Coorperative Company Ltd is one of the largest and trusted dairy companies in the world.
"Maliban Milk Powder is manufactured out of 100% pure cow's milk, which is certified by the Australian Government. Maliban Milk during the last one year has grown around 700% in terms of volume. With Sri Lanka having over 400 to 500 medium and large FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) companies, Maliban Milk is probably the only product brand in the FMCG category that has recorded such a high growth percentage, which is a significant achievement" said Mr. Jayawardena.
Also recently the company introduced two other additional products to the market, which includes Vitagen, which is a formulated meal replacement and nutritional supplement as well as the Puredale Milk Powder and instant full cream milk powder enriched with Vitamins A and D and Maliban One Plus for kids.
"Viatgen is a formulated quality meal replacer and its overall nutritional value is higher than most of the similar products in this category and this we will offer at a very reasonable price. Maliban 1+ is enriched with Prebiotics and Omega 6 and 3 fatty acid, and Puredale is a full cream milk powder with 28% milk fat enriched with vitamin A and D and its easy dissolving properties make it convenient to use" stated Mr.Weerasuriya.
CONCLUSION
Having pioneered the biscuit industry in Sri Lanka, Maliban is a unique example of a true Sri Lankan brand that has won the trust and confidence of the local as well as the foreign consumers. With its high quality biscuits and milk powder product ranges Maliban has set new heights in the industry and in the future will be using its expertise to introduce innovative products based on market demands, what more can you expect from a renowned and leading brand that has won the hearts of consumers to the maximum. |
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