Saturday, 7 June 2014 00:00
-
- {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Maliban, the household name of millions of consumers across the country for more than six decades, has achieved yet another significant milestone by recording the No. 1 position in the foods unlisted brands category, according a comprehensive research conducted by the LMD and published in the LMD brands manual in 2014. In the overall unlisted brand category Maliban reached No. 2 position which also a remarkable achievement considering the micro and macro market conditions.
The results were obtained through a stringent method adopted by Brand Finance, which included the screening of respondents eligible to participate in the survey, and selecting a proper and ideal sample size to establish a sufficient base from each district. The data collection was done through a carefully compiled structured questionnaire from which respondents were asked to rate brands on a 10-point scale. These responses were based on absolute consumer opinion in the areas of quality, reliability, distinctiveness, reputation and trustworthiness.
The legendary business entrepreneur and the founder of Maliban biscuit A.G Hinniappuhamy once said “treat quality as your religion”, and that unmatchable philosophy has continued over the past few decades under the leadership of current Chairman Ratnapala Samaraweera.
“We are very focused on our growth strategy, thus we are planning to diversify our business based on future market trends whilst consolidating the current business. We were able to produce some excellent business results during the past few years mainly due to our customer focus approach. Satisfying the customer is not only the function of sales and marketing department anymore, every department must work together to create value for the customer. This approach has helped us immensely to achieve the company goals on a more sustainable manner during the past few years,” explained Managing Director Kumudika Fernando.
The new product development process headed by Fernando, has taken innovation to a different level by introducing five product launches and five new re-launches during the last 12 months. This is a significant achievement considering the challenges faced when introducing a new product to the market. These new innovations such as Double Cream, Spicy Cracker, Chocolate Cream Marie, and even Chocolate Puff with a new theme are extremely popular with consumers.
Maliban Biscuits manufactures now posses a state-of-the-art manufacturing process, thus company has won many accolades both locally and internationally, which include the National Quality award in 1996 and 2012, Export Gold Award 2006, Global Performance Excellence Award in 2011 and most recently the Gold Award in the National Level, Manufacturing, Extra Large category at the CNCI 12th Achiever Industrial Excellence Awards 2013. The company has also been accredited with the ISO 9001:2008, 1400:2004 and 22000:2005 for quality environment and food management systems respectively.
“We really value the recognition of becoming the No. 1 unlisted food brand in the country because it’s been selected and voted by the consumers. This is an ideal testimony and endorsement to, Maliban’s high quality standards, world class manufacturing process and ethical business practices,” explained Fernando.
