Saaraketha steps up to COVID – 19 challenge

Saaraketha, Sri Lanka’s largest retailer and exporter of certified fresh organic produce and ethically sourced sustainables, when Sri Lanka entered a sudden lockdown in response to the global COVID–19 pandemic, was one of the very first to respond to the overnight national need for delivered food. Unlike other retailers, in the food industry, Saaraketha had years of experience with home delivery, supporting a loyal base of urban consumers with a bi-weekly service prior to the pandemic.

“The island-wide curfew brought with it overnight unprecedented demand, where in the first 48 hours they witnessed a 100x surge per day on their online home delivery segment. They encountered fresh, un-foreseeable challenges as the Saaraketha team stepped up to fulfil their calling as a socially responsible company. With the leadership of their Managing Director; Prasanna Hettiarachchi, Saaraketha found not only novel ways to streamline their processes, delivery and service, but also opened up their platform and customer base to other small ethical businesses,” the company said in a media release.

The Saaraketha Lifestyle philosophy has always been one of sustainability, social responsibility and highest quality; values that come alive particularly in periods of crisis. Because of their commitment to these principles, despite facing a severe disruption of their core export business, Saaraketha has still been able to contribute to support the livelihoods of their supply chain consisting of over 2500 rural smallholder farmers. In addition they have also been able to contribute to the lives of 50 employees and their families, over 50 delivery drivers and their families, 28 small ethical businesses and 7000 plus customers. In keeping with their philosophy they have also continued to also help three charity organisations with free food, at a time when both income and access to food has been scarce and uncertain, the company said..