Soursop Ice Cream from Elephant House of Sri Lanka. Anoda much in Demand for its Nutritional and Medical Benefits

28th November 2010, www.sundayobserver.lk

Elephant House has always been conscious of the Sri Lankan preference in taste and flavour. Adding to its portfolio of unique flavours, Elephant House launched its Anodha ice cream (using natural soursop) in Sri Lanka last week.

The green, spiky, heart shaped exterior of the soursop may not be appetising, but once you feast your taste buds in the luscious creamy white flesh of the fruit there is no stopping.

Soursop is known in Sri Lanka to be full of nutrients beneficial to human health and is said to contain large amounts of Vitamin C, B1 and B12.

These nutrients are important to help support higher energy levels, emotional stability, and mental clarity. The fruit is also rich in carbohydrates and is said to be a natural remedy for many diseases.

"Soursop ice cream is an extension of the natural based product portfolio of Elephant House and reaffirms our commitment to high quality product and brand innovation," said Head of Frozen Confectionery Elephant House Neil Samarasinghe.

"We know that the new Soursop ice cream will be quickly accepted. Our research shows that the market has been awaiting an all natural ice cream that does not compromise taste." he said.

Image: From left - Peshala Karunarathna - Asst Brand Manager, Russell Perera - Field Sales Manager, Neil Samarasinghe - Head of Frozen Confectionary, Roshanie J Moraes - Sector Head Retail - Executive Vice President JKH Charitha Subasinghe- CEO , Keells Supermarkets.

Sri Lanka's Elephant House Rebrands to Reflect New Market Realities

23rd July 2010, www.tops.lk

Elephant House, soft drinks and ice cream, has completed its corporate rebranding efforts. The changes effective immediately, will continue to operate under the legal name Ceylon Cold Stores PLC. All future business activity shall refer to the company as Elephant House the company said.

John Keells Consumer Foods Sector, President Jitendra Gunaratne said, this is an incredibly dynamic time in our company's history to launch Elephant House's new corporate identity, which better represents the brand's iconic status and aspirations going forward.

"While the corporate identity has changed to reflect new market realities and consumer behaviour, the best of the company - the passion, commitment and high standards of the Elephant House team members - remain the same," he said.Gunaratne, said 'through this launch they plan to take yet another step to the future in strengthening the Elephant House brand values and continuing to offer exciting products to our consumers.'

This move was backed by extensive consumer research that complemented the Elephant House brand values.

Elephant House's positioning now reconnects the brand with its 'goodness' roots while it reaches out to a younger consumer demographic. The announcement, which caps off a year of substantial growth and change for the brand, is accompanied by strategically designed packaging for its soft drinks, ice cream, and dairy milk product portfolios.

Elephant House will embark on an aggressive plan to expand their presence in the ice cream and soft drinks markets to compliment its market leadership in the respective markets. "We're investing in new machinery and technology, Frozen Confectionery Head, Neil Samarasinghe said.

USAID Funds Dairy Project in East, Sri Lanka, With Support from Land O’Lakes and CIC Agribusiness

11th November 2009, asiantribune.com

The U.S. Ambassador, Patricia A. Butenis, officially opened a new ice cream plant in Batticaloa District as part of a dairy revitalization project that will increase the incomes of 4,000 dairy farmers and create new jobs in the former conflict-affected area.

The project is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the development agency of the U.S. Government. USAID provided $3.75 million to initiate the project, leveraging funding from Land O’Lakes, a leading U.S. dairy producer, and CIC Agribusiness, a major Sri Lankan agricultural company.

Ambassador Butenis said, “The U.S. Government is proud to support this effort to revitalize the dairy industry in the East. This project will increase the incomes of participating farmers, ensure that the quantity and quality of milk produced in Sri Lanka improves, and reduce dependence on imported milk products.”

The project has established a network of farmers from Batticaloa, Trincomalee, and Polonnaruwa districts, teaching them new skills to increase the quantity and the quality of milk production. Before the conflict, the Eastern Province provided 30% of all milk production in the country, reflecting the great untapped potential of the dairy industry in the east. This project alone is expected to increase national milk collection by 9%.

Following the plant opening, Ambassador Butenis met with a group of mostly female dairy farmers who attended the event.

Image: U.S. Ambassador Patricia A. Butenis with women farmers in Punani.