Dilmah and Good Life X launch The Lost Ingredients Lab

Helping agri-related SMEs and entrepreneurs innovate and scale sustainably

Post-pandemic health, economic and social challenges have made everyone re-think the current way of doing business. With increasing risks for supply chains to be affected by disruptions, building resilience is taking on ever-greater importance today. Sustainability and technology have a key role to play here. In fact, moving into eco-friendly value chains has proven to deliver higher financial gains while creating positive societal impact.

Dilmah Tea has teamed up with Good Life X to launch the Lost Ingredients Lab: a platform for Sri Lankan organic and regenerative agriculture and food sectors to integrate their value chains through innovation and collaboration. The Lost Ingredients Lab is an initiative under the ‘Support to Small and Medium Enterprises in the Organic Agriculture Sector’ Programme of the Multi-Donor Action (MDA) jointly co-financed by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The programme is aimed at creating investment opportunities in the domestic agri-food sector, emphasizing the growing importance of digitalizing the domestic organic food sector, and supporting organic food producers in Sri Lanka to access new markets, particularly in the EU.

“In addition to bringing key native ingredients to international markets, the project will engage SMEs and entrepreneurs in the process of innovation and sustainable growth. Participants will undergo an eight-month programme, in which the first phase focuses on research and development and the second phase concentrates on product development. This initiative could not come at a better time as Sri Lankan businesses face the need to adapt amidst unprecedented economic hardship,” a Dilmah ews release said.

“The key local ingredients have high nutritional value, health benefits, and unique properties of particular interest for international markets. SMEs and entrepreneurs who work directly and indirectly with these ingredients will have the opportunity to explore new markets and technologies and disrupt existing business models.

“Dilmah believes Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17: Partnership for the Goals is key to achieving the other 16 SDGS and drives conservation and restoration through its environmental sustainability arm: Dilmah Conservation. Dilmah has found Good Life X to be a like-minded technical partner for the Lost Ingredients Lab. An innovation and development catalyst, GLX provides critical knowledge and expertise to rapidly advance the prospects of South Asian startups, SMEs, and investors focusing on regeneration and innovation through their solutions.”

Follow @DilmahConservation and @GoodLifeX on Facebook, and Instagram for future updates.