Maliban evolves to meet changing consumer needs

Maliban Biscuits is launching new products aimed at changing food habits of Sri Lankan consumers and it is emerging as a big player in the food industry, senior officials of the company said.

Sri Lankan best quality biscuit market leader, and the country’s premier biscuit manufacturer, Maliban Biscuit Manufactories Limited sets out to meet the increased demand of customers making the entire range of their biscuits from the crispy taste of the traditional Cream Cracker, to the savory and lemon puff, gold Marie and chocolate cream and a variety of products to meet the changing customer preferences, they said. Adhering to the modern trends, Maliban has infused young blood to augment the professional skills focusing their products to be exactly within the consumer satisfaction.

Maliban steps in to this new generation with the confidence gained from over seventy years of giving Sri Lanka the very best in biscuits, the officials said.

Perennial family favorite - Maliban Smart Cream Cracker with a crispy taste as well as a new look is one of the fast selling products of the company , said Mr. Kasun Thotagamuwa , Brand Manager Maliban in an interview with Better Living section of the Sunday Times .

He said that the Company’s key strength right throughout in its long history has been its emphasis on quality, and while assuring the best quality they are more alert on needs of the consumers.

He further added that the milky taste and the crispy bite of the Maliban Smart cream cracker is a result of research and opinion surveys done with consumers. The current effort is to engage consumers across all age categories with its fresh crispy taste and they invite the people to experience the smart difference.

Considering the present economic situation of the people, Maliban has decided to introduce a new 330 gram pack at a reasonable price of Rs. 130 to suit the purse of modern day consume r s, s a i d M r. Thotagamuwa. Further, headed that Maliban Smart Cream Cracker is now available in 130, 190, 330 and 500 gram packs at affordable prices.

Their consistency in quality has paid rich dividends throughout as quality is niche in even capturing the foreign developed markets including Europe.

The brand name “Maliban” while is synonymous with biscuits in Sri Lanka is ageless and has been on top of the minds of all Sri Lankans ever since the Maliban Biscuits came into the market.

Maliban Smart Cream Cracker has revolutionized the entire biscuit planning process together with the marketing game planning. And it is the revolutionary brand within the stiff market forces in the industry, our brand is progressing, he added . Consumers have very well accepted this brand and in actual fact the consumers are proud to be asso- ciated with the ‘ Smart Cream Cracker he said.

“For the consumers who seek energy and are concerned about the level of sugar in the food they eat, Maliban has introduced the Real Bran Cracker which is full of energy with fiber and has no added sugar”, said Mr. Kasun Thotagamuwa .

Speaking to the Better living section of Sunday Times Mr. Samantha Pushpakumara Brand Manager said that, Maliban Lemon Puff is a natural lemon cream biscuit comprising natural lemon oil which has been the secret behind its success. Having become a brand that has dominated the market with regard to high quality the House of Maliban has and will always be a brand that is steeped in traditional values with the right balance of state-of-the-art technology, thereby becoming a brand name that all Sri Lankans will always respect and love. It is a fact that Maliban Lemon Puff is undoubtedly one of the best Lemon Puff Biscuits in Sri Lanka. It is also noted that Maliban lemon puff is one of the highest demanded products even in the export markets and at Maliban we are proud that 90% of our exports go to European market.

Maliban is set for innovations and has set new trends by identifying consumer needs and wants said in the interview with Mr. Gotabaya A t t a n ayake , Brand Manager at Maliban. The Maliban Strawberry Crunch which is available in supermarkets is increasingly getting popular amongst the consumers for real strawberry taste. This delicious biscuit is filled with strawberry cream and has the most tantalizing strawberry jam filled centres he added. The Maliban Chocolate cream is a favourite amongst everyone from children; to adults. And it has a unique taste of chocolate simply because it is made from one of the best chocolate sourced from Belgium, said Gotabaya Attanayake . It is very popular among every house hold in the island including the North and East he added.

Maliban Gold Marie is very popular amongst mother as a breakfast for their children with love. Since it’s enriched with vitamins, it has come right on top of recall as the best option of a Sri Lankan mother. Since it has

won the International Taste and Quality award for its superior taste and quality the brand equity is so high among our mothers.

The traditional milk biscuit, the Gold Marie has been a kids favourite for over fifty years. Now enriched with vitamins A, B, D and E, it is nutritious as well as tasty, said Mr.Duvindra Corea, Brand Manager.

After conducting a comprehensive market research and consumer survey , Maliban has introduced its newest innovation, Maliban Premium Marie going back to olden days size of Marie biscuit with the taste of milk and butter for young and old. This will definitely capture the market in a big way he said.

To ‘offer the consumer superior taste with the best quality at an affordable price’ was the vision of A G Hinni Appuhamy, Founder/ Chairman of Maliban Biscuits at the inception of the company. The same footsteps been followed by the present Chairman Mr. A.G.R. Samaraweera & board of directors of the company. It is indeed a truly a team spirit of every employee of maliban group to deliver founder chairman s promise to consumers.

During its six decades in the Biscuit Industry Maliban has been able to attain and maintain that vision whilst experiencing steady growth and becoming a market leader within its sphere.

Maliban has always given priority to sharing with society its success ( what they are able to achieve) hence, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has played a major role in the company’s position., Maliban has implemented numerous CSR projects including IT education for students, donating computers for rural schools as well as several rural community development pro

jects.