Munchee introduces ‘Kome’: South Asia’s first rice based cracker

Tuesday, 26 March 2013 00:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Recent research shows that current world trends focus on moving from wheat based to rice based products. Capitalising on this trend, Munchee of Ceylon Biscuits Limited (CBL) introduced a rice based cracker in Sri Lanka using solely local rice.

This is the first cracker in South Asia to be classified as rice based. Using state of the art technology from Japan and the Far East countries, CBL has once again made a name for themselves with its revolutionary ‘Kome’ rice crackers, which means rice in Japanese.

This is a rice based cracker with no imported ingredients. Adhering to the fact of fried food being unhealthy, the Kome rice crackers are baked and not fried, which preserves the nutritional value in the ingredients keeping it deliciously crunchy and crispy.

With four unique flavours starting from sweet; BBQ; prawn; sweet and chili, Kome is currently available island wide.

Commenting at the event Munchee Marketing General Manager Theja Peiris said: “This convenient cracker is manufactured using only local raw materials, which we have received from our own (CBL Munchee) farmers.

“We believe in upgrading our consumers, upgrading the industry, introducing healthy eating habits, supporting farmers and contributing to our economy. The ‘Kome’ rice cracker is a revolution in the market and we at CBL Munchee believe that it is our duty to be the trend setter and provide nothing but the best to our consumers.”

Speaking on the Research and Development (R&D) aspect of the Munchee ‘Kome’ rice cracker, CBL Munchee R&D General Manager Anura Senarathna noted: “The rice used for production is all from Sri Lanka, predominantly from Mahiyanganya and research is being done in Ambalangoda and Bathalegoda. A special type of rice (306 and 405) is given by us (CBL Munchee) to our farmers and they in turn cultivate them and give it back to us for production.

“The farmers who are registered under the Backward Integration Program of CBL will store the rice until its ready to be processed. Research has shown that the European market is seeking for rice based products; hence we hope to start exporting our rice cracker very soon to the European and Far Eastern market along with more flavours.” CBL has not only developed a unique product, but have also saved on the cost of imports and contributed to the Sri Lankan economy through the use of local raw materials and manufacturing. CBL has been the pioneer to introduce nutritious biscuits in the Sri Lankan market. The innovative range varies from Munchee kothalahimbutu crackers, kurakkan crackers, to karapincha crackers and many more.