ELPITIYA PLANTATIONS PLC MAKES STRIDES IN THE VALUE ADDED PRODUCT SEGMENT
ETHE SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY IS A CORE COMPONENT OF ITS THREE PRONGED CORPORATE STRATEGY AND HAS BEEN DESIGNED TO EFFECTIVELY ADDRESS SEVERAL CRITICAL CHALLENGES IMPACTING THE LONG TERM SUSTAINABILITY OF THE PLANTATION SECTOR. THE SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY CENTERS AROUND SIX SPECIFIC SUSTAINABILITY ASPIRATIONS WITH MEASURABLE TARGETS AND KPIS AND IT IS ALIGNED TO SIX SPECIFIC SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
lpitiya Plantations PLC (EPP) is one of the Sri Lanka’s leading Regional Plantation Companies, cultivating Tea, Rubber, Oil Palm and other crops in estates spanning to all 03 elevations in the Island, namely High Grown, Mid Grown and Low Grown. Through a bold and transformative strategy launched several years ago, the group has gradually transitioned from a primarily commodity based business to a dynamic, vibrant and diversified business with strategic interest in non traditional crops, renewable energy, specialty tea and others. EPP is also an industry leader in sustainability, having embedded with economic social and environmental considerations to its overall business strategy and decision making. EPP is part of the Aitken Spence PLC Group, one of Sri Lanka’s most respected and diversified conglomerates.
The groups’ three pronged corporate strategy comprising Agriculture & Processing, Design 2020 and Sustainability, aims to transform EPP to a diverse, dynamic and agile organization, generating superior stakeholder value while ensuring preservation of the environment.
The Agriculture & Processing Strategy aims to increase crop yields and labour productivity, thereby addressing the persistent challenges of labour shortages and low yields, through mechanization and better agricultural practices.
The forward thinking, holistic Design 2020 strategy seeks to transform EPP to a diverse and entrepreneurial organization through venturing into new businesses and driving value addition while developing the leadership capabilities.
The sustainability strategy is a core component of its three pronged corporate strategy and has been designed to effectively address several critical challenges impacting the long term sustainability of the plantation sector. The sustainability strategy centers around six specific sustainability aspirations with measurable targets and KPIS and it is aligned to Six specific Sustainable Development Goals.
A key project under Design 2020, the ‘Berries Project’ aims to cultivate 04 varieties of Berries; Strawberries, Blueberries, Blackberries & Raspberries on selected estates. Commercial operations have commenced for Strawberries, Raspberries and Blackberries, while Blueberries are in the pilot stage. These Berries are marketed under the Brand ‘Berrymuch’ and are available in the leading supermarkets in Colombo.
EPP also cultivates and markets a range of tropical fruits including Soursop, Passion Fruit, Pineapple, avocado, Durian for both the local and export markets. While continuing to expand a range of short term fruit crops, we are also exploring innovative fruit based products such as pulps and jam based on customer and product research.
Another project is the cultivation of Conventional and Organic Cinnamon, strategically targeting the European export market.
EPP’S renewable energy portfolio includes mini hydro projects and roof top solar projects which are generating more energy than the total energy requirement of EPP.
Currently EPP has a range of Value added products consisting of Tea, Cinnamon, Treacle, Honey, Jams, RTDS and Fresh Fruits. All these exclusive products are marketed under three brand names.
1. Harrow Ceylon Choice is the company’s first and oldest brand. Tea, Cinnamon, Kithul treacle, Bee honey are all produced under this brand.
2. Berrymuch- The prior mentioned berry types and its products such as fresh berries, jams and toppings are all produced under this brand.
3. Tropifrut- Under this brand are soursop, pineapple and passion fruit and its jam, juices and toppings.
Harrow House is the Retail Outlet where all the above Brands are made available.
The company’s products can be purchased in our own outlet before being purchased externally. Our special ‘Harrow House” retail outlet, situated in Vauxhall Street, Colombo 2, within our own head office complex. Our main objective is to provide all of Elpitiya’s products in one place to all consumers. Furthermore, we plan to expand from Colombo to Galle, Matara, Kandy and other locations around the main cities around Sri Lanka.