Siddhalepa Group’s Supirivicky bags award at International Innovation Awards

Asoka Hettigoda with his award in Macau, and the other winners and judges

Enterprise Asia, the leading non-governmental organisation for entrepreneurship in Asia bestowed recognition on Sri Lanka’s homegrown, household staple, Supirivicky at their recently conducted International Innovation Awards for the year 2018. Supirivicky won in the Product category and present to receive the award was MD of the Group Asoka Hettigoda.

“This award is a testimony of my family’s untiring efforts to preserve our age old traditions and remedies in a modern form, one that would appeal to both local and international customers, without losing its identity or intrinsic characteristics,” said Asoka Hettigoda. 

Over 400 attendees were present at the event, comprising of industry experts, entrepreneurs, and innovation leaders. Apart from supporting organisations such as Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), Hong Kong-Thailand Business Council, InvoTech, MIT Hong Kong Innovation Node, The Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (Hong Kong and Macau), and TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs), the event was also attended by dignitaries including Tan Sri Dr. Fong Chan Onn, Former Human Resources Minister of Malaysia, and Chairman of Enterprise Asia, Datuk Seri Dr. Victor Wee, Former Chairman of Tourism Malaysia, and Advisor to Enterprise Asia, Dr. Eugene Chien, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Environment, Taiwan and Advisor to Enterprise Asia, Lieutenant General Sudhir Sharma, Former Quartermaster, General, Indian Army, and Advisor to Enterprise Asia and Dato’ William Ng, President of Enterprise Asia.

According to Dr. Fong, “Companies that encourage a culture of innovation within their respective businesses are already reaping the rewards of more rapid growth, better employee engagement and resilience against economic trends. There is little doubt that innovation is today the key game changer for many businesses, and this will continue to be so.”Organised by Enterprise Asia, International Innovation Awards (IIA) is the most coveted global recognition program which aims to recognise and honour best innovative practices in the categories of Product, Service and Solution, and Organisation and Culture, with the goal to encourage organisations to continue investing in innovations. Judging parameters include innovation distinction, practicality and performance, commercial viability, social and economic impact, replicability, and institutional support. Judges for the IIA was comprised of a panel of innovation experts and thought leaders, while scoring was done using the proprietary 8D Benchmark. 

The Awards is part of the third dimension of Enterprise Asia’s purpose: Democratising Entrepreneurship, Institutionalising Sustainability and Empowering Innovation. This year, the committee received more than 160 international nominations across 24 industries. Some of the winners include Dell Inc., Singapore; Ogawa World Berhad, Malaysia; Bangchak Corporation Public Company Ltd., Thailand; CTBC Financial Holding Co. Ltd., Taiwan; Ping An Group (Ping An Technology), China; Etiqa Insurance Ltd., Singapore; and Roads & Transport Authority, Dubai and of course Sri Lanka’s Supirivicky.

The story of the Siddhalepa Group of Companies goes back 200 years to the middle of the 19th century. In Galle, a small town on the southern coast of Sri Lanka lived Hettigoda Gamage Don Carolis de Silva, an agriculturist by profession. His talents however, were multifaceted. He excelled in the art of Astrology and was also well known as a skilled Ayurvedic physician. Of his two sons, Hendrick De Silva Hettigoda followed in his father’s footsteps and studied Ayurveda and Astrology, while his younger son, the late Most Ven. Aggamaha Panditha Prof. Walpola Rahula, rose to fame as a world-renowned Buddhist scholar. The rest is history as today Siddhalepa and its diverse products and services are a household name. Supirivicky was launched to the local market in 1988 and was the first non-white toothpaste based on traditional ayurvedic herbs for total oral care to be introduced in all of Asia. Supirivicky combines nine Ayurvedic ingredients best known for their healing and restorative effects for gums, teeth, throat and tongue. Supirivicky Ayurvedic toothpaste helps to prevent tartar, tooth decay, and discolouration of the teeth. The nine Ayurvedic ingredients are namely, Aralu (Terminalia chebula), Garcinia (Garcinia cambogia), Clove (Eugenia caryophyllus), Munamal (Mimusops elengi), Katukarandu (Barleria prionitis), Pila (Tephrosia purpurea), Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), Pepper (Piper nigrum), and Welmee (Glycyrrhiza glabra). 

The selection of ingredients used in Supirivicky was based on classical Ayurvedic texts such as Charaka Samhitha written in 2nd Century B.C, Sushruta Samhitha written in 6th Century B.C, Saarartha Sangrahaya written by King Buddhadasa, Bhavaprakasha 16th Century A.D., Rajanigantu 17th Century A.D. and many more using formulations/ingredients to create a product suitable for modern use. Traditional Ayurvedic ingredients were converted using sophisticated machinery, creating a fluoride free toothpaste which was recently re-launched as ‘Supirivicky Original’ and ‘Supirivicky Mild’ with Goraka as its key ingredient to improve its efficacy and effectives for total oral care.

Established in 1971, the Group is one of the largest and pioneering industrialists of ayurveda products with a range of over 400 medicinal oils, balms, teas, elixirs, ayurvedic cosmetics, ayurvedic teas and other medicines for domestic and export markets. The group also runs an ayurveda hospital, the Siddhalepa Ayurveda Resort & Spa, a city hotel Anarva Mount Lavinia and several Spas in Sri Lanka, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Group was the first in the country to receive ISO Trinity with ISO 9001, 14001, 22000 and also OHSAS, HACCP, SLS275 and GMP. 

The Group’s unwavering commitment to a green environment has won them many national awards such as the Award for Carbon Footprint ISO 14064 in 2018, Presidential Green Awards and Green Reporting 2018/2015, as well as the National Cleaner Production Practices and awards 2009, 2010, and 2011, for Water, Material, and Energy Efficiency, and the international green awards and recognitions such as The Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Awards 2017 under the Green Leadership Category Award for Outstanding and Exemplary Achievement in Social and Responsible Entrepreneurship. 

Named the ‘Balm King’ by Asiaweek in 1989, Dr. Victor Hettigoda D. Lit has also been awarded several prestigious accolades over the years including the coveted ‘Deshabandu’ award, bestowed by the President of Sri Lanka, in recognition for his untiring contribution to the field of Ayurveda. He has also been bestowed the ‘Shahassrabisheka Waidyasuri’ award conferred by the Minister of Health, Nutrition and Welfare, in recognition of being one out of 100 best Ayurvedic Physicians of the Century who have rendered yeomen services to the Nation. 

The Honorary ‘Ayurveda Vishwa Panditha’ was also conferred on Dr. Hettigoda by the Samastha Lanka Ayurveda Waidya Sammelanaya (Federation of Sri Lanka Ayurveda Physician) in recognition of his contribution to the field of Indigenous Medicine of Sri Lanka. In 1998 LMD named Dr. Victor Hettigoda as one of the 50 greatest Sri Lankans since Independence.

Global award for Siddhalepa Supirivicky