Maliban

Maliban is a Sri Lankan food manufacturing and consumer brand business whose best-known products are biscuits and other bakery items. The business developed from the entrepreneurial activities of Angulugaha Gamage Hinni Appuhamy, who moved to Colombo in 1922 and began building a hospitality and food operation after opening a tea kiosk on Maliban Street in Pettah in 1928. His early ventures expanded into hotels, a bakery, mineral water bottling and ice cream, creating the operating base from which the Maliban name developed. The company’s industrial food history is generally dated to 1954. After the family’s businesses had been consolidated in Maliban Hotels Limited in 1945, the bakery operation was converted into Maliban Biscuit Manufactories Limited. On 5 August 1954, the company began full-scale biscuit production using plant obtained from Baker Perkins. One of its early products was Maliban Marie, which helped establish the brand in the Sri Lankan biscuit market. Demand led the business to adopt more mechanized production, including the purchase of a biscuit cutter from India after the company had initially produced biscuits by hand. In 1965, production moved to a larger factory complex on a 4.1-hectare site in Ratmalana. This location became the principal industrial base for the business and supported the transition from a bakery operation into a large-scale packaged-food manufacturer. A modern plant installed in 1993 reportedly cost Rs 350 million and increased production capacity by approximately 20 tonnes per day. During the 1970s and 1980s, Maliban was reported to hold more than 85 percent of Sri Lanka’s biscuit market, illustrating the strength of the brand during its main domestic expansion period. Maliban’s portfolio centers on biscuits, but the wider business has roots in several food and beverage categories. Historical activities included bread, hand-made biscuits, mineral water and ice cream. In contemporary operations, the company is primarily associated with packaged bakery products and distribution. Reference material describes production of approximately 36 million biscuit packs per year, employment of more than 1,800 people and exports to over 35 countries. It also reports a domestic biscuit market share of more than 40 percent, although the applicable measurement period is not specified. Quality management has been an important part of Maliban’s positioning. The company was described as the first food company to receive Sri Lanka’s National Quality Award, winning it in 1996 and again in 2010 and 2015. It also received Global Performance Excellence Awards from the Asia Pacific Quality Organisation in 2016 and 2018, followed by a Brand Excellence Award at the Sri Lanka Best Brand Awards in 2020. These recognitions support a market position built around consistent mass-market quality, manufacturing capability and national brand familiarity. Leadership has remained closely connected to the founding family. Hinni Appuhamy died in 1970, after which the company passed to his son Rathnapala Samaraweera. Following Samaraweera’s death, A. G. Kumudika Fernando was appointed group chairperson of the Maliban Group on 21 August 2024. In 2020, Maliban also announced plans to diversify into pharmaceutical manufacturing in support of Sri Lanka’s proposed domestic pharmaceutical industry. Maliban therefore combines a long-established biscuit identity with a broader family-owned manufacturing strategy, while retaining Sri Lanka as its core market and using exports to extend the brand internationally.

Maliban’s origins lie in the food and hospitality ventures of Angulugaha Gamage Hinni Appuhamy. Born in Akmeemana in 1902, Appuhamy left school and home for Colombo in 1922. In 1928 he opened a tea kiosk on Maliban Street in Pettah. He later converted the kiosk into a small hotel and expanded into additional hotel premises, eventually involving his brothers A. G. Wickramapala and A. G. Jinadasa in the management of the growing operation. The family business broadened into food manufacturing when Appuhamy established a bakery. It initially produced bread and later added hand-made biscuits. Maliban Marie was among the early biscuit products. To respond to growing demand, Appuhamy obtained a biscuit cutter from India, marking an early step toward more systematic production. The family also established a dairy on land in Kirulapana, later moving the dairy to Nawala, while the Kirulapana property was used for hand-operated bottling of Maliban Mineral Waters. A further diversification was the Maliban Cream House ice-cream business in Colpetty. In 1945, the assets of the three brothers’ businesses were incorporated into Maliban Hotels Limited. The combined operation included six hotels, a tearoom, an ice-cream parlour, a mineral-water business and a bakery. The bakery later became the foundation of the dedicated biscuit company. After acquiring manufacturing equipment from Baker Perkins, Maliban Biscuits began full-scale production on 5 August 1954. The bakery section of Maliban Hotels Limited was subsequently converted into Maliban Biscuit Manufactories Limited, formally establishing the company’s industrial biscuit identity. A major physical expansion followed in 1965, when operations moved to a new factory complex on a 4.1-hectare site in Ratmalana. This factory enabled Maliban to operate at a scale beyond its original bakery roots. In 1970, Hinni Appuhamy died and ownership passed to his son, Rathnapala Samaraweera. During the 1970s and 1980s, the company was reported to control more than 85 percent of Sri Lanka’s biscuit market, making it one of the country’s dominant packaged-food businesses. In 1993, Maliban installed a modern production plant at a reported cost of Rs 350 million. The investment increased capacity by approximately 20 tonnes per day. Over time, Maliban developed a substantial distribution and export footprint. Reference material describes more than 1,800 employees, continuous 24-hour production, approximately 36 million biscuit packs produced annually and exports to more than 35 countries. It also reports a domestic biscuit market share above 40 percent, without identifying the precise year of measurement. Quality awards became a recurring part of the company’s corporate history. Maliban received Sri Lanka’s National Quality Award in 1996, 2010 and 2015, and was described as the first food company to win the award. The Asia Pacific Quality Organisation recognized the company with Global Performance Excellence Awards in 2016 and 2018. In 2020, Maliban received a Brand Excellence Award at the Sri Lanka Best Brand Awards. These achievements reinforced its reputation as a large, quality-focused Sri Lankan food manufacturer. The business has also explored diversification beyond biscuits. In 2020 it announced an intention to enter pharmaceutical manufacturing, aligning the move with government plans to expand local pharmaceutical production. Leadership continued to transition within the founding family after the death of long-serving chairman A. G. Ratnapala Samaraweera. On 21 August 2024, his daughter A. G. Kumudika Fernando was appointed group chairperson of the Maliban Group. The company remains privately owned and active, with biscuits and bakery products continuing to define the consumer-facing Maliban brand.

1. 2024New group chairperson appointed

   A. G. Kumudika Fernando became group chairperson on 21 August 2024 after the death of A. G. Ratnapala Samaraweera.

   Source
2. 2020Pharmaceutical diversification announced

   The company announced plans to diversify into pharmaceutical production in support of Sri Lanka’s local manufacturing objectives.

   Source
3. 2018Second Global Performance Excellence Award

   Maliban received another Global Performance Excellence Award from the Asia Pacific Quality Organisation.

   Source
4. 2016Global Performance Excellence Award

   The Asia Pacific Quality Organisation awarded Maliban a Global Performance Excellence Award.

   Source
5. 2015Third National Quality Award

   Maliban received the National Quality Award again, extending its record of quality-related recognition.

   Source
6. 2010Second National Quality Award

   The company received Sri Lanka’s National Quality Award for a second reported time.

   Source
7. 1996First National Quality Award

   Maliban received Sri Lanka’s National Quality Award and was described as the first food company to achieve the recognition.

   Source
8. 1993Modern production plant installed

   A new plant reportedly costing Rs 350 million increased production capacity by approximately 20 tonnes per day.

   Source
9. 1965Production moves to Ratmalana

   Manufacturing operations were transferred to a new 4.1-hectare factory complex in Ratmalana.

   Source
10. 1954Full-scale biscuit production begins

    Using equipment acquired from Baker Perkins, Maliban Biscuits began full-scale production on 5 August 1954.

    Source
11. 1945Businesses incorporated into Maliban Hotels Limited

    The brothers’ hotels, tearoom, ice-cream parlour, mineral-water operation and bakery were brought together under Maliban Hotels Limited.

    Source
12. 1935Tea kiosk converted into a hotel

    The original kiosk was expanded into a small hotel, followed by further hospitality premises and related food ventures.

    Source
13. 1928First tea kiosk opened in Colombo

    Founder Hinni Appuhamy opened a tea kiosk on Maliban Street in Pettah, providing the early commercial foundation for the later Maliban business.

    Source

A long-established Sri Lankan mass-market food brand positioned around accessible packaged bakery products, manufacturing scale, quality recognition and family-business heritage.

• Maliban MarieBiscuits1954

  Maliban Marie was among the company’s first biscuit products and helped establish its packaged-biscuit identity. The product represents the brand’s early transition from a bakery serving locally made goods to a manufacturer producing standardized biscuits at industrial scale.

• Maliban biscuitsPackaged bakery products1954

  Biscuits form the core of Maliban’s consumer portfolio. The range developed from early hand-made production into large-scale factory manufacturing and is associated with the company’s domestic distribution and export business. Specific current sub-ranges are not identified in the supplied reference material.

• Maliban bread and bakery productsBakery products

  Bread was part of Maliban’s original bakery activity before biscuits became the company’s principal industrial category. Bakery products remain part of the broader business description, although the supplied sources do not provide a complete current product list.

• Maliban Mineral WatersBeverages

  Mineral water was an early diversification of the Maliban family business. Historical operations included hand-operated bottling at the Kirulapana property, before the dairy activity associated with the site was moved to Nawala.

• Maliban ice creamFrozen desserts

  The business historically entered the ice-cream sector through the Maliban Cream House in Colpetty. The supplied material does not establish whether this historical activity remains part of the current portfolio.

• 2024Family leadership successionOther

  A leadership transition followed the death of A. G. Ratnapala Samaraweera, who had served as the company’s previous chairman.

  What changed. A. G. Kumudika Fernando was appointed group chairperson of the Maliban Group on 21 August 2024.

  Aftermath. The appointment continued the company’s family-linked leadership succession. No additional strategic changes are specified in the supplied material.

  Source
• 2020Diversification into pharmaceuticalsStrategy

  Sri Lanka was pursuing greater domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity, and Maliban identified the sector as a potential area for expansion beyond its established food business.

  What changed. Maliban announced that it would diversify into pharmaceutical production.

  Aftermath. The supplied reference material does not document the subsequent implementation, investment amount or commercial outcome of the plan.

  Source

• 2024A. G. Kumudika Fernando appointed Maliban Group chairperson

  A. G. Kumudika Fernando became group chairperson on 21 August 2024 following the death of her father, A. G. Ratnapala Samaraweera.

  Leadership change
  Source
• 2020Maliban announces diversification into pharmaceutical manufacturing

  Maliban announced plans to enter pharmaceutical production as part of Sri Lanka’s efforts to establish a more self-sufficient domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing sector.

  Other
  Source
• 2020Maliban receives Brand Excellence Award

  The company was reported as a recipient of a Brand Excellence Award at the Sri Lanka Best Brand Awards.

  Other
  Source

1. Maliban