Lanka Sathosa, MILCO partnership powers Highland

Lanka Sathosa, the country’s largest retail network business, and MILCO, one of the country’s largest dairy companies, announced that they had successfully propelled Highland to rise above the competition and emerge as the highest selling full cream milk powder at Sathosa.

Working together, the two state sector entities strived relentlessly to promote home grown brand Highland’s locally manufactured full cream milk powder to consumers across 420 Sathosa outlets around the island. Thanks to the combined efforts of the two organizations, Highland now accounts for 1 in every 3 packets of full cream milk powder sold on average at Sathosa outlets, rising from a basket share of less than 15% about a year ago.

Going beyond building the brand and driving sales and revenue, this achievement augurs well for the nation’s goal of achieving self-sufficiency in the dairy industry. The sector is currently dependent largely on imported milk powder, thereby resulting in significant drain in valuable foreign exchange.

“MILCO was formed with the aim of supporting the rural economy and catering to the nutritional needs of the nation. Over the years, we have continued to ramp up our fresh milk collection and dairy product manufacturing operations to strengthen the local dairy industry and offer nutritious products to consumers. In line with this, we are excited to have partnered with Lanka Sathosa on driving our Highland range of products. Working together, we have successfully helped Highland full cream milk powder rise to become the number one selling brand in its category at Sathosa outlets. This is a significant milestone for the brand as well as for the local dairy industry,” said, Lasantha Wickramasinghe, chairman, MILCO (Private) Limited. “Encouraged by these results, we recommit ourselves to serving the nation and its dairy sector in particular.”

“At Lanka Sathosa, we strive to support the country by offering the highest quality everyday essentials at economical prices to consumers and by assisting small business owners, local manufacturers and farmers. In line with this, we partnered with MILCO to promote Highland’s locally manufactured products. We are delighted to see Highland now emerge as the highest selling full cream milk powder at our stores. In doing so, we have also helped the nation save valuable foreign exchange. This is a result of the ingenuity and commitment of both our teams. It gives us further impetus to champion local brands and thereby drive the economy forward,” said, Dr. Nushad M. Perera, chairman, Lanka Sathosa Limited. “We will continue to work with likeminded partners on transforming Sri Lanka’s retail space and delivering greater value to the nation.”

Lanka Sathosa Limited is a state-owned largest retail network business in Sri Lanka with over 420 outlets island wide and over 4500 employees. Established in 2005 under the name Lanka Sathosa with the aim of food security to the mass consumer, the retail chain’s new vision reflects its perceptions of its current target consumers with lower and lower middle-income households which is a price setter for the nation. Guided by its trusted leadership team, Lanka Sathosa spearheads the sustainable development of the food industry in Sri Lanka.