Maliban Biscuit Company Sri Lanka - Essay On History, Market Share, And Global Presence. (70 Characters)

Maliban Biscuit Company and its leading competitors in Sri Lanka

According to reports, there are about thirty companies in Sri Lanka that compete for a market of approximately sixty thousand tones. However, it is of great importance to note that Maliban Biscuit company together with the other major competitors only have a market share of about 90% especially in the biscuit market (Gunawardane & Dabare, 2015). The biscuit market in Sri Lanka is growing at a very high rate in the past recent years according to recent findings. Maliban is one of the major manufactures of biscuits in Sri Lanka.

The company has a rich history of being in existence for over fifty years. The company began as a very simple and small tea-making operation. Today it has now transformed into a huge business. The company has about Rs. 5 billion turnover. The company has built one of the best state of the art manufacturing facilities. The company has been built on a 9 hectare piece of land at Ratmalana. The state of the art production facility is one of the biggest biscuit making units in the South Asia. About 1,500 people have been directly employed by the Maliban biscuit company.

The company prides itself for having to withstand the inevitable force of globalization. It is actually a matter of national pride because its roots are based in Sri Lanka. There is no doubt that Maliban is actually a true Sri Lankan company. The company has adopted an aspiring vision that has enabled it to position itself in the global market as one of the strongest player in the global issues (Selvanyagam & Ragel, 2015). The company’s biscuits have managed to penetrate every corner of the world. The company has managed to successfully distribute its products due to the strong extensive distribution that the management has put in place. The company boasts of extensive product range that encompass; Savoury, Crackers and Sweet assortments.

The company has been catering to a very broad variety of customer segments. Some of the consumers include; the regular biscuit lovers, senior citizens, health conscious customers, and the children. The company was also the first biscuit manufacturing company in Sri Lanka to export its biscuits around the world in the year 1963. Ever since the first export, the company decided to focus on taking its products to the markets that were perceived to be ethnic. However, in the year 2003, the company decided to restructure its export department.

Maliban Biscuit Company's rich history and state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities

The restructuring bore fruit as the company’s international momentum started gaining in the market. The company recorded a 20% growth in the company’s exports. Since that time, Maliban has been exporting its biscuits to major economies like; U.S, Germany, Canada, France, UAE. Other markets where these biscuits are exported include; Italy, Switzerland, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Australia, India, Ghana, Seychelles, Bangladesh and many more others. There is no doubt that the company has grown to be a global one as it exports to the major continents like; Asia, Europe, Middle East and North America (Gunawardane & Dabare, 2015).
Market size of Maliban Biscuit Company Sri Lanka

The company has grown to be so strong over the past years. It is also financially stronger with a vibrant team of young professionals. The young professionals have been put in charge of planning the main strategies of the company. The young professionals have been charged with the responsibility of expanding the company operations. Maliban Company has a huge market size both in Sri Lanka and around the world. However, the company has been facing stiff competition from other major biscuit making companies. The company has embarked on creating a long term plan to regain its market share and also regain its previous dominance as the best biscuit manufacturing industry and then later also claim back its stake in the food industry. According to the Maliban management, the main objective is to make the company a food conglomerate. Recently the company re-launched the Maliban Cream Cracker.

The Cream Cracker came with a new look and taste with the main target being the younger market. The company targets the young because they had already won over the older market with the first Cream Cracker.  The re-launched Cream Cracker managed to capture a market share of about 15% with the other competitors taking about 80% (Selvanyagam & Ragel, 2015). According to the Maliban management, the re-launched Cream Crackers products do not have any trans-fat, preservatives or even the animal fat. Consumption of these ingredients therefore may cause some health complications if consumed in large quantities. The company cares about the health of its customers.

The company was rated as the best biscuit manufacturer in Sri Lanka. It is praised for being the only company in the food industry in the whole world to have the honor of being awarded a World Class Award amongst the many other companies that operate in the food industry at an international level. The company received the Global Performance Excellence Award (GPEA). The company received the award from the Asia Pacific Quality Organization. The event took place at the 22^nd Asia Pacific Quality Organization that took place in Rotorua, New Zealand. GPEA is actually the most coveted award that many companies around the world aspire to have. The award strongly affirmed Maliban’s place on the global stage. With the award, the company has asserted itself as a superior performing company by beating all the other major multinational industries that were competing for the same award. The company beat the other companies from over fourth countries to scoop the coveted award.

Maliban Biscuit Company's global presence and extensive distribution

The company also made history as the only Sri Lankan food company to ever receive such an award. Companies were awarded according to how they performed under the different categories of large service, Small manufacturing, Healthcare, Not for Profit, and Education. Ever since it was established, the company has always used world-class ingredients and the best state-of-the art production processes (Gunawardane & Dabare, 2015). The company has always committed itself to giving its customers biscuits that have an exceptional taste and quality. The biscuits are available to the customers at a cheaper affordable price. The commitment to produce the best quality biscuits has made the company to scoop the National Quality Award thrice in a row. It is clear proof that the company is dedicated to only giving the best quality biscuits through the use of advanced processes to give the products a more superior look. The company has put in place clear structures to enable it achieve a sustainable development.

According to research, the Maliban Biscuit Company had a market share of about 42% in the market. However, the market share reduced after the strike that took place in the year 2005. Its market share dropped to about 15%. The market share dropped due to the inability that the company experienced when it came to adequately supplying its customers with the biscuits. The company’s present market share is estimated to be about 28%. The company’s 70% percent sales are said to be in the rural areas and the remaining thirty percent is in the urban market (Gunawardane & Dabare, 2015). Maliban’s market has now started growing steadily again.

The company has now come up with new products to woe more customers to buy its products. The company is now embracing new innovative ways of running its operation something that should have actually been started early. According to reports, the Sri Lankan population consumes about 2-3 kilos of biscuits. The figure is projected to rise as Sri Lanka continues to develop more. The figure is projected to increase up to at least 10 kilos. This clearly indicates to us how the biscuit manufacturing industry is growing at a faster rate.  It is imperative for any company to know that the hallmark of any successful company is by enhancing the competitive performance in.Companies must also evaluate their capacity to convey some growth that is continuous. Theoretically speaking, the capacity to innovate, ability to attract good people, clear definition of competitive advantages, formation of a strategic vision and intent, and facility to leverage the major core competencies are usually said to bring some differences. Currently the biscuit industries produce over 55,000 metric tons in Sri Lanka. The industry is reported to be worth Rs. 8.5 billion (US dollars 85 million) (Selvanyagam & Ragel, 2015). Most biscuit manufacturing companies have invested heavily in innovation. New and better products are now being produced by the various companies in Sri Lanka.

Maliban Biscuit Company's commitment to quality and innovation

Two Environmental Factors currently affecting Maliban Biscuit Company Sri Lanka

The company is under immense pressure to comply with all the environmental regulations that have been set by the government. Maliban, just like any other company is required to conserve the environmental when manufacturing its products.

The company must work hard to satisfy its investors, and the customers. Satisfaction of the customer needs will make the company to be successful

Company History and Background of Maliban Biscuit Company Sri Lanka

 The Maliban Biscuit was started in the early twentieth century. The company was established by a young man from the South of Ceylon.  The young man went to Colombo with the main goal of finding some greener pastures to enable him cater for his needs. The name of the young man was called Mr. Angulugaha Gamage Hinnyappuhamy. When he arrived in Colombo, he decided to set up a small kiosk. The kiosk was located on the First Cross Street in Colombo. His tireless finally bore fruit when he successfully opened the Maliban Hotel in the year 1935. At that time he was about 62 years of age when he opened the hotel. The hotel was located at the Maliban Street in Pettah. Angulugaha was soon joined by his two other brothers, A G Jinadasa and A. G. Wickramapala (Gunawardane & Dabare, 2015). His brothers came into business to help him manage it as it was growing at a very fast rate.

Hinnhyappuhamy decided to take a step further when he stretched his business. He established an artisan bakery that was located in Kotahena. The demand for products with superior taste and quality has been on the rise. Many customers like the products produced by the Maliban Biscuit Company. The company has for a long time had some very loyal customers around the world. The customers have been loyal through the hard and good times of the company. The first mechanized production process was established by the Maliban Biscuit Company was established in the year 1954. It was the first of a kind in Sri Lanka. After the production started, its biscuits conquered the market. They had the best taste in the market. Many people were really attracted to the product. Hinnhyappuhamy managed to make the Maliban biscuits to become very popular all over Sri Lanka (Selvanyagam & Ragel, 2015). The brand gained so much trust from many people around Sri Lanka. He decided to relocate his company to a more spacious site in Ratmalana, South of Colombo. He built a modern factory that had some semi-automatic processes manufacturing capabilities.

Maliban Biscuit Company's market size and competition in Sri Lanka

 The semi-automatic manufacturing process enabled the company to consistently produce high and quality levels of food safety.  He managed to get enough capital from the sales that helped him to expand his company more. The Maliban continued upgrading as years went by. The company continued to embrace the new modern technology to help in the operations of the company business. Although, it faces stiff competition, Maliban is still one of the successful biscuit producing companies in Asia.

In the mid-sixties, the company began exportation of its products out of Sri Lanka. Many countries have learnt to appreciate the sweet taste of the Maliban biscuits. The company successfully overcame the stiff competition that came in the 80s when there was a huge influx from many different international brands. The company managed to overcome the stiff competition by consistently producing high quality products (Gunawardane & Dabare, 2015). The main principle of Hinnhyappuhamy was to always deliver uncompromised taste and quality to the consumers. The principle has been the major reason as to why the Maliban product has remained strong for the last six decades.

Maliban was the first pioneer biscuit manufacturing company in Sri Lanka. It is operated as a Private limited biscuit manufacturing company. It is one of the most respected and trusted brand in Sri Lanka. Maliban manufactures a variety of cookies, wafers, and crackers. All these are sold across Sri Lanka in over 100,000 stores. The company has a huge presence across thirty five countries that are found in five continents. According to the company management, about twenty five million packs of biscuits are usually manufactured every month. The biscuits are usually produced using very stringent hygienic conditions with the help of the state-of-the-art facilities. The company is an ISO 14001, ISO 9001, OFSAS 18001 and ISO 22000 certified biscuit manufacturing company. Through establishment of better operations, the company has won so many national awards (Gunawardane & Dabare, 2015). The company has about 1,250 employees. The major operations of the company are run by a group of very qualified professionals that head the major operational departments of the company.

However, the company’s board of directors consists of the third and second generation family members of Hinnhyappuhamy. The current chairman of the company aspires to maintain high quality standard of Maliban biscuits. The company has been able to succeed by focusing on some major six areas which are; reduction of expenses, maintenance of high morale among the workers, best performance in production, on time delivery of the products and excellent management of the safety of the work place. The main priorities of the company are mainly quality and innovation.

The company also focuses on gaining excellent performance through strategic planning, knowledge management and measurement analysis, leadership, process management and workforce focus. To maintain the biscuits superior taste and quality the company has been constantly adopting various measures to do so. The company carries out regular testing and inspection of its products on a regular basis (Selvanyagam & Ragel, 2015). The testing and inspection starts from the time the raw materials are purchased through to production and finally packaging of the biscuits. All these procedures have the main objective of maintaining the high quality standards of biscuits manufactured.

The company has enormous capital and networking structure that enables it to reach a huge market population. The management of the Maliban Biscuit company has implemented a very strong state-of-the –art Enterprise Resource Planning system. The ERP helps the company in the streamlining of the major processes. The system helps to maximize efficiency of the company. It is the first company in Sri Lanka to put in place the Business Suite 4 SAPHANA (SAPS/4HANA). The adoption of the business has made the business operations of the company to be more productive (Gunawardane & Dabare, 2015). Over the past few years, the company has posted very strong performance.

The company has now expanded its operations in and outside Sri Lanka with the main aim of getting and reaching a new customer base. The company has updated most of its manufacturing plants with the current integration of the modern technology and machinery into the production process. The company has also introduced new products in the market. All these developments have resulted into the further growth of Maliban’s market share in and outside Sri Lanka. It was of great importance for the company to introduce the faster and automated processes.

The introduction has helped in the integrating of all the major functions of the various departments of the company. The company dispatched the SAP S/4HANA to help it in the streamlining of the input processes and also use mobility to bring innovation. The company also uses the SAP technology to get the best data visualization tools and business analytics (Gunawardane & Dabare, 2015). The utilization of the SAP technology will help the company to make the best business decisions. The company has always strived to carry on with different and new enhancement of its processors and systems.

Vision

Maliban’s biscuit company vision is to become the most respected and successful food Industry Company in Sri Lanka.

Mission

The main mission of Maliban Biscuit Company is to win the minds and hearts of the consumers. The plan plans to do this by delivering the best food propositions that has an exceptional quality, value and safety. The Company’s mission is to also to be socially and environmentally responsible, improving the satisfaction of its employees. The company’s mission is to also return optimum value to all the stakeholders.

• The company has strong presence both in Sri Lanka and around the world.
• Well advanced art of the state-of-the-art facilities
• Strong financial muscle
• Strong product
• Availability of enough skills among the staff.

Weakness

• Family wrangles in the business about who should control the company hence hampering the smooth functioning of the business.

Opportunities

• The company has a good chance of winning back its former customers.
• The company has a better chance of getting a new market from other countries

Threats

• The company faces stiff competition from other major biscuit manufacturing companies.
• Constant Family wrangles.

References

Selvanayagam, J. E., & Ragel, V. R., 2015, Consumer Acceptability of Brand Extensions: The Role of Brand Reputation and Perceived Similarity. IUP Journal of Brand Management, 12(3), 18.

Gunawardane, P.D.S.H. and Dabare, P.T.R., 2015, August. A signature based approach for quality checking of biscuits. In Ubi-Media Computing (UMEDIA), 2015 8th International Conference on (pp. 92-97). IEEE.