June 16, 2010 (LBO) – A European taste and quality award won by Sri Lanka’s Maliban Biscuit Manufactories should give it an edge in marketing both locally and overseas, officials said.
Lucky Weerasuriya, Maliban chief executive officer, said good manufacturing practices and use of imported raw materials helped achieve the quality that won them the ‘Superior Taste award 2010′ of the Brussels-based International Taste and Quality Institute (iTQi).

“Our products are based on British recipes. So we need import raw materials to maintain quality,” he told LBO. “That’s why we won the award.”

He said the award would give the firm an edge in marketing both locally as well as in export markets like the UK, France, Germany, Australia and the USA.

The company is planning new investments to upgrade its production plant and considering exporting biscuits to India as well.

“We’re looking at exporting some of our premium products to India,” Weerasuriya said.

Around 400 million rupees worth of investments are planned to modernize production plant.

Maliban, whose six-decade-old brand is a household name in the island, said the award was given for its Cream Cracker, Gold Marie and Chocolate Cream Biscuit products.

The iTQi is an independent chefs and sommeliers-based organization that dies testing and gives awards for tasty consumer foods and drink

Its jury comprises of chefs and drink experts from European culinary associations inclding France, Belgium, Portugal and Spain.

Products are tested on a solely blind basis, without packaging or identification and the tests cover aroma, texture, flavour and appearance.

Some 900 products from 80 countries were tested for the awards this year

Warna Fernando, Maliban’s assistant general manager for quality assurance and research and development said the three products that won the award account for 70 percent of volumes in its product range.

“We wanted to find out why our customers are so fond of them,” she told a news conference.