MARKET

More than 30 companies compete for a market of 60,000 metric tonnes in Sri Lanka (Source: ACNielsen 2005). However, Maliban – together with its main competitor – accounts for nearly 90% of the biscuit market – one that has been growing at a steady pace over the years.

Maliban is one of Sri Lanka’s premier biscuit manufacturers, with a rich history of 50 years. What began as a simple tea-making operation has grown into a massive enterprise today, with a turnover of Rs. 5 billion. And a state-of-the-art production facility on a nine-hectare site at Ratmalana makes Maliban one of the largest biscuit-making units in South Asia. The company provides direct employment to 1,500 people and takes pride for having withstood the inexorable force of globalisation – a matter of national pride. Maliban is a truly Sri Lankan company with an inspiring vision that positions itself as a strong player in the global market.
Maliban biscuits reach every corner of the island, through an extensive distribution network. Its extensive product range – comprising Crackers, Savoury, Sweet and Assortments – caters to a wide variety of consumer segments; from the health conscious to regular biscuit lovers, and from kids to senior citizens.

Maliban became the first Sri Lankan company to export locally manufactured biscuits to the world as far back as in 1963. Since then, its biscuits were exported mainly to ethnic markets around the world. International marketing has gained momentum after the company restructured its export department in 2003 – a 20% growth in exports followed. Today, Maliban biscuits are directly exported to Canada, the US, the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, Australia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the Maldives, Seychelles, India, Bangladesh and Ghana. It is now a truly global company with distribution channels in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia.

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ACHIEVEMENTS

Maliban was the first biscuit manufacturer to be awarded ISO 9001 certification in 1995 and the National Quality Award in 1996. Its flexible manufacturing systems and compliance with International Standards have resulted in creating a demand for private label manufacturing opportunities from the UK and the US. Not content with this, Maliban has gone on to achieve higher levels of excellence by securing ISO 14000 and ISO 22000 standards.

In 2005, Sri Lanka’s highly regarded business magazine LMD, in collaboration with ACNielsen, conducted a survey to select the 50 Most Respected Sri Lankan Entities. Maliban ranked number two in the Food & Beverage Sector and was placed twentieth in the overall rankings.

During 2004 and 2005, Maliban was recognised as one of the Most Recalled Top 10 Brands by ACNielsen, thanks to the brand’s effective communications strategy – an outstanding honour, considering that it was competing with multinational brands that are supported by large advertising budgets.

In 2004, at the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing Advertising Awards, a Maliban brand – Gold Marie – won an award. Subsequently, in 2005, this record was bettered when Maliban won four awards for its Cream Cracker and Ginger campaigns.

Guided by the ethics of its founder A. G. Hinni Appuhamy, his successors have continued to guide Maliban to reach new heights of excellence by moving with the times. Today, The House Of Maliban is known both locally and internationally for its high-quality product range.

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HISTORY

Founder/Chairman and Managing Director Angulugaha Gamage Hinni Appuhamy was born in Akmeemana, in the Galle District. His education was basic, and at a small rural school with virtually no resources. He came to Colombo as a boy of seventeen, in 1921, and his first job was at the canteen of Mackinnon Mackenzie. Thereafter, he opened his own tea kiosk at First Cross Street. In 1935, this kiosk was converted into Maliban Hotel, at 62 Maliban Street. It is from such humble beginnings that the Maliban legend was born. Today, Maliban is a giant in the biscuit manufacturing industry in Sri Lanka.

The story of Maliban is not merely the tale of extraordinary entrepreneurship – it is also a testament that a person from the humblest roots can achieve greatness through vision, discipline and commitment.

In a few years, the business was expanding rapidly and the founder decided to ask his two brothers – namely, A. G. Wickramapala and A. G. Jinadasa, from Galle – to assist him. Hinni Appuhamy was determined to produce food of the highest standards in hygiene and quality. With this ideal in mind, a bakery was launched.

When there were supply shortages during World War II, Sri Lankans eagerly awaited shipments of British biscuits. Hinni Appuhamy wanted to change this culture and manufacture world-class biscuits in Sri Lanka. He procured machinery from India; and within six months, the biscuits had become so popular that demand outstripped manufacturing capacity. The company then switched to a mechanised manufacturing process. In 1954, Hinni Appuhamy imported Baker Perkins machines from Britain – and with the assistance of internationally recognised consultant A. C. Paige, Maliban’s biscuit manufacturing business entered a new phase. By 1963, it had grown so dramatically that its factory had to be relocated to Ratmalana. Over the years, Maliban consolidated its position as the undisputed market leader in biscuit manufacturing in Sri Lanka.

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PRODUCT

Maliban’s extensive product range includes unsweetened Health Crackers; semi-sweet biscuits such as Gold Marie, Nice and Gingernuts; sweet cream biscuits such as Lemon Puff; chocolate/custard/orange cream biscuits; wafers; a savoury range – Krisco, Cheesebits and Chickbits; and Potato Crackers. Maliban only uses vegetable oil in its production process. As a result, its products are Halal certified.

Maliban firmly believes that if any element in its manufacturing process – be it ingredients, equipment, control mechanisms, safeguards, labour, packaging or distribution – is deficient in any way, then the product does not deserve to be associated with the term ‘goodness’. Constant upgrading of every element in the production and marketing chain is, therefore, almost an article of faith – this is the key to Maliban’s success story.

While only approved raw materials are used by Maliban, frequent and comprehensive testing is undertaken to ensure that quality is never compromised. Indeed, testing is done at all critical junctures of the production process such as mixing, cutting, baking and packaging. Maliban is extremely particular about the reliability of its suppliers. All ingredients are subject to rigorous testing before being approved for production.

While Maliban has moved with the times, with its production process keeping pace with technological advancements, the higher levels of automation haven’t resulted in complacency. Metal detectors are in place to ensure that foreign matter, however minute, does not find its way into the production process. Regular maintenance, constant modification and machinery upgrades ensure consistency and product quality. And Maliban considers monitoring to be of utmost importance. Re-setting standards, raising the bar, so to speak, has become a defining feature of the company’s quest for perfection. Nothing is left to chance and extremely high standards of cleanliness are maintained in its factory.

As for the future, Maliban plans to move into an enhanced automation mode in packaging, to further improve quality, minimise breakage, retain oven freshness and improve productivity. The company has also made plans to shift from electric-powered ovens to gas, to circumvent the impact of power failures. The move to gas has also been prompted by the need to obtain better and more even baking.

The company’s thinking on production, then, is essentially driven by two objectives: efficiency and quality. And Maliban drives these elements in one direction: perfection.

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RECENT DEVELOPMENT

Maliban knows that its uncompromising policy on quality alone will not satisfy the consumer. Given its long history in the business of manufacturing biscuits, Maliban is well aware that consumer preference is not guaranteed indefinitely. For this reason, it places great emphasis on product development. Constant experimentation, production trials, trial sales and so on are carried out to improve its products and develop new products to cater to the changing and varying needs of all sectors of the market. In this scenario, the Maliban Research and Development team relentlessly pursues innovation based on changing consumer needs, as well creating new ones. Some of the more recent developments in this sphere are as follows.

Potato Crackers – Sri Lanka’s only potato biscuit in the market, primarily targeted at kids and teenagers.
Strawberry Gem – Another first, with strawberry-tasting centres, appeals to children’s taste buds.
Water Crackers – A wellness cracker that is popular among health and figure-conscious consumers.
Honey & Cinnamon – An authentic cinnamon biscuit, specially made for export.
Multi-grain Crackers – A nutritious cracker made of wheat, rice, oats and barley.
Maliban is also in the process of developing rice biscuits for the Education Department, in keeping with the government’s vision of using excess rice meaningfully.

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PROMOTION

Maliban’s new corporate and brand-positioning campaign, ‘Inspired By Goodness’, which was aimed at celebrating the company’s 50-year milestone, gives value back to the community, rather than ride on claims of corporate achievements. This media campaign is aimed at educating the younger generation on cultural practices that are timeless in value and provide a strong foundation for family life, in today’s fast-paced, high-tech society. Through this campaign, Maliban has gained a greater brand equity and is renowned for being a truly Sri Lankan company that upholds the nation’s heritage, culture and identity. Apart from the corporate campaign, individual brands have also been promoted in recent years.

Maliban Gold Marie is the flagship brand, with a 50-year history. It was reformulated with added nutrition and promoted with a new brand idea, ‘Another generation of children growing up with Maliban Gold Marie’. Maliban Lemon Puff was relaunched in November 2003 with a new biscuit formulation and campaign based on the advertising idea, ‘Dreamy Creamy Lemony Biscuit’. Maliban Chocolate Cream Biscuits, the market leader in its category, was supported with a new campaign based on the theme, ‘Kids will do anything for Maliban Chocolate Biscuits’. Maliban Cream Crackers, with a new line extension, enhanced packaging and a new brand identity of being an ‘Anytime Square Meal’, grew by an unprecedented 38% in its first year, post its relaunch. It was also nominated as a Turnaround Brand of the Year by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing Brand Excellence Committee. Maliban Nice was repositioned as a biscuit for young adults, via ‘Making your life nicer with Maliban Nice’. Maliban Gingernuts is targeted at a younger audience, with an advertising campaign based on ‘100% Natural Ginger Kick’. Maliban Wafers were introduced in September 2004 with a new campaign for kids based on ‘Creamy Crunchy Wafer’. The brand rose to number one position within six months of its launch. And Maliban Potato Crackers were introduced to the market in 2005, primarily targeting older kids and teenagers with a new campaign based on ‘A Taste for New Generation’.

Maliban recently concluded a 5S productivity programme, conducted among several schools across the island. By sponsoring this programme, Maliban strove not only to produce best-quality biscuits, but also help produce disciplined and obedient students who will one day be the most valuable and productive citizens of Sri Lanka.
In 2004, the company initiated a scholarship programme to commemorate the one-hundredth birth anniversary of its Founder Chairman A. G. Hinni Appuhamy. Scholarships valued at Rs. 4.5 million were awarded to 500 schoolchildren, to improve their education. Maliban has sponsored school quiz programmes in sixteen districts, with 300 schools participating, for eight consecutive years.

At times of national disaster, Maliban has stepped forward to help those affected through the UN’s World Food Programme and the government of Sri Lanka.

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BRAND VALUES

Maliban’s brand value centres around its core values of heritage, trust, quality, taste and nutrition. In the periphery are a trio of attributes – namely, Maliban’s pioneer status, its advertising creations and the variety for which its biscuits are so well known. Supporting the brand’s core values are the manufacturer’s spirit of innovation, youthfulness and modernity.

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THINGS YOU DONT KNOW ABOUT Maliban

♥ Maliban was the first company to export biscuits from Sri Lanka.

♥ Honoured as the second Most Respected Sri Lankan Entity in the Food & Beverages Sector, by LMD in 2005.

♥ Maliban bakes two billion biscuits each year and at least 80% of Sri Lankans have tasted its products.

♥ Some three million Gold Marie biscuits are consumed everyday.

♥ Maliban was the first company to introduce biscuits with vitamins.

♥ It is the first food-manufacturing company to receive a National Quality Award. 

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www.malibanbiscuit.com