Glittering Gold for CBL at National Exports Awards 2017
Gold is a rare material and a symbol of excellence from time immemorial. Even to this day, we award gold medals or trophies to outstanding performers across any sector.
At the NCE Exporter Awards 2017, concluded at the Hilton on September 29th, Ceylon Biscuit Limited (CBL) took home four gold awards.
Most Outstanding Exporter- Gold Most Outstanding Exporter Industry Sector- Gold Industry Sector Extra Large CategoryGold Most Value- Added Exporter Products Sector- Gold. The presence of CBL is evident within Sri Lanka. However, the company also has a strong foothold in the international market, and exports more than 100 of its products to over 55 countries across the world. Ms Sheamalee Wickramasingha- Group Managing Director at CBL joined us to discuss CBL’s role as an exporter, the exports industry in Sri Lanka, its potential, and challenges that facing the industry.
She opened the interview by speaking about CBL’s performance at the 25th NCE Exports Awards. She alluded to the four awards as a “very nice surprise” for the company. “Over the years, we have been recognised for our exports in the non-traditional food sector. Being awarded the Most Outstanding Exporter award is really a recognition of the whole CBL team, because honestly, exporting confectionery and other food products, is not easy,” she commented. “The high quality of our product range, ability to continuously innovate and the state of the art manufacturing facilities of the group contributes to being able to compete in the international market.”
Sri Lanka has population of 21 million and a GDP of 3, 835.4 USD as of 2016, according to the World Bank. Therefore the drive to develop a thriving export sector is a necessity of the country. Speaking of the Sri Lankan food industry, Ms Wickramasingha recognised that having a strong local market can support the ability of a company to export.
The Group currently has many Munchee and Ritzbury products in its export portfolio, as well as coconut- based products, organic foods, and soy based products.
“Collectively the markets are very different. we are looking at greater value addition, and in fact, as a company one of the strengths we have as an exporter is that we are not only a manufacturer but have input and control over many aspects of the supply chain; in many instances even going down to the farmer. We have over 10,000 farmers in our backward integration programme. In essence we control our supply chain from the time raw material are grown in the country, to the time the finished product is exported,” commented Ms Wickramasingha. At present, CBL’s flagship brand, Munchee, has built a niche for itself in the international markets. However, CBL is in the process of launching a new export brand ‘Ahara’- to compete in the organic, value-added segment.”
CBL occupies over 50% of the confectionery market share in the country, with its range of chocolate products occupying nearly 60% of the market share. However, in order to grow and contribute to the national economy, the company feels that it needs to look at other markets as well. By now, CBL exports over 120 containers in a month, and 30% of the products are under the Munchee brand. Apart from exporting CBL has two overseas manufacturing sites, one in Bangladesh where Munchee products are manufactured and another in Myanmar processing organic fruits.
According to Ms Wickramasingha, Munchee is widely accepted within the SAARC region, with a healthy consumer demand. “For us, our growth will be in many spheres, not just exporting out of here. We need to establish manufacturing bases especially in the region as there are excessive tariffs for imported food products. Our strategy is to make Mucnhee a global brand though direct exports and manufacturing Munchee products in markets it makes sense to do so
The company has long-term customers who are loyal to the brand, whether within the country or outside its borders. Ms Wickramasingha recognised the unique products that CBL manufactures, innovations that consumers cannot get anywhere else. One such product is the range of ‘Kola Kanda’ products, its exports largely servicing the expat Sri Lankan communities.
While different markets have different preferences, Cream Crackers, Ginger Biscuits, Hawaiian Cookies, and Milk Short Cakes, as well as Chocolate Puff are crowd favourites within the region. CBL is also planning to aggressively export its chocolate, investing USD 15 Mn to expand capacity and range. Consumers can look forward to many new products in 2018 from CBL.
The company has an active R& D team, and as Ms Wickramasingha said, “At CBL, everyone is very passionate about what we do. The impressive performance is a result of the passion being translated to commercial performance.”
“CBL is a participant in developing the National Export Strategy.” the Prime Minister has visions for Sri Lanka to be an export nation,” commented Ms Wickramasingha. “However, in order to achieve this, change is a must. If the SME sector is to grow, and be more engaged and involved in exporting products out of Sri Lanka, change needs to happen.” Ms Wickramasingha emphasised upon the necessity of a long term national agenda, removed from political or party agenda, for the country. “I think that is what we must strive towards so that we give access rather than barriers to people to export,” she observed. At present, the food industry needs to interact with over ten separate ministries governing the regulation of exports prior to the exportation of the product. CBL believes, as a successful, exporter, in order to encourage others to follow suit, the company needs to lend its voice to the issues faced by the industry as a whole. The decision-making process, certain regulations, and the psyche of the country are some of areas that Ms Wickramasingha highlighted as areas where change is needed. While regulations are necessary, she also highlighted the importance of those regulations being compatible with the current world and spoke about policies in food. “We need to have a policy as to what does country want to do,’ she elaborat e d , “What food categories should we promote as exports? Traditionally as a tropical island we have been known for our coconuts and spices. Do we leverage on that? Once we decide that, we must have a policy to encourage same”. “For example, coconut industry is a dwindling industry today. Once a major coconut exporter, Sri Lanka is now being surpassed by other exporters due to the lack of policies that govern and encourage the sector. Therefore a strong holistic and robust policy is required.” Exports can be done through Business to Business ( private labels), Business to Consumer (own brand). CBL is well versed in both areas. Once again, the discussion turned towards C B L’ s the new brand ‘Ahara’ through which CBL wishes to enter sophisticated markets such as Europe and the US. Initially, Ahara is a combination of rice crackers, ready-to-eat coconut products, and spice infusions, with visions of expanding its range in the future.
CBL is extremely quality conscious, with state-of-the-art labs, and has continuously invested in its factories so that they are on par with international companies. The company has FDA certifications, the British Retailers Certification, and a host of other certifications that back its commitment to quality, lending to the transparency of the company.
“We integrate sustainability into our system. Right from the inception, this has been important,” said Ms Wickramasingha. Community development is a task that CBL devotes to wholeheartedly. The company looks at self-sustaining CSR - uplifting the lives of the people. CBL has affected change along the supply chain, by introducing new technologies to the farmers. CBL Is propagating organic farming and creating fair trade members in the country.
What does the immediate future look like for CBL - “We will be looking to strengthen our export portfolio. We will continue to develop the SME sector in the value chain and focus more on adding greater value through innovation and efficiency to traditional and non-traditional food exports earning more valuable foreign exchange to the
country.