Sri Lanka needs more biscuit manufacturers
Although 58 biscuit manufactures operate in the country, there is space for another 10 per cent to enter the biscuit market, said the Chairman /Managing Director –Uswatte Confectionery Quintus Perera at the product launch of the “Uswatte-Golden Biscuits” held at the Hilton Colombo this week.
Referring to exports of biscuits from Sri Lanka, he said there are already enquiries from Maldives and Singapore and they are working on it.
He said Uswatte has a reputation for using premium quality raw materials for manufacturing their products. Uswatte confec- tionery with 63 years of expertise under their belt was able to manufacture two types of biscuits, such as the hard dough variety that include Cream Cracker, Marie and Lemon Puff and soft dough variety such as the Chocolate Cream, Nice and Shorties, simultaneously.
He said the reason behind venturing into manufacture of “Uswatte Golden Biscuits” was twofold.
It was due to experience gained from manufacturing of Uswatte Wafer biscuits during the past 40 years and due to fulfilling the dream nurtured by his late father, he said.
“Data obtained from market research show that there is a 10 per cent vacuum for biscuit manufacturers, in the country.” Parliamentary Speaker Karu Jayasuriya who unveiled the “Uswatte Golden Biscuits “products said that apart from catering to the 21 million people in the country, Uswatte manufacturers should strive to capture other markets in the world as well.
He said Sri Lanka is ideally suit- ed for business as it is strategically located in the world. The free trade agreements that Sri Lanka has entered into with other countries can be beneficial to the local industries as well. “Europe’s most prestigious companies today have been bought over by Indian and Asian nationals and we too should also strive to achieve excellence. The present government’s aim is to provide facilities to the private sector to expand businesses,” he said.
The Uswatte confectionary that began in 1956 later moved into Ratmalana after acquiring land in 1961 to set up its own factory. Since then Uswatte has continued to supply their products to local consumers during the past few decades. All Uswatte Golden Biscuits are made at the company’s state of the art factory in Millaniya using premium quality raw materials from the UK and from the Netherlands.
The 100,00 sq.ft. factory is built on a sprawling 15 acre land with space to expand operations to meet demands in the biscuit market. Uswatte Confectionery Works (Pvt) Ltd is the pioneer in Sri Lanka for manufacturing high quality delicacies and snacks. Uswatte has a well-established sales and distribution network covering all parts of the island. The company exports to UK, Australia, Canada, India Italy, France, Japan, Seychelles and the Maldives.
It was due to experience gained from manufacturing of Uswatte Wafer biscuits during the past 40 years and due to fulfilling the dream nurtured by his late father, he said.