Building a tea empire from scratch

By Rashika Fazali

In a bid to make ends meet, one man built an empire from scratch which is worth millions today. What did he do? He produced low-grown tea from Ratnapura, exported some and auctioned most of it at the Colombo auction over a period of 13 years.

Daduwangala CTC and Raindrop Tea Exports and Zenra Marketing Owner M.D.A. Ariyasena speaks to the Daily FT about his struggles to build a worthy tea plantation and how it is faring today.

How did the former government worker make his way to the top? Ariyasena underwent many hardships to get into the tea industry. His first job was working for a cooperative department. After being transferred from Hambantota to Ratnapura, he lost his job after participating in a general strike in 1980.

With a heavy loss on his shoulder and a family to look after, Ariyasena started doing various jobs here and there. He got involved in supplying building materials to housing authorities and although he continued it for some time, there was no permanent income.

In 1985 Ariyasena got into the tea industry by growing tea on a one-acre land. However, this attempt turned out to be unsuccessful. Trying his luck again, in 1990 with much difficulty he bought a 30-acre land for Rs. 1.3 million and cultivated tea. He stated that it took him two years to fully and successfully grow tea with the help of many workers.

That year, he won the President’s Award for the best tea plantation in the Sabaragamuwa District.

Building the first factory

Ariyasena said that back then his job was to supply tea leaves to other factories, especially in the Batalanda area. He stated that growing and supplying tea in the peak seasons was draining him financially. During this high season, the wastage of tea leaves is generally 15% to 20% which in terms of money meant that Ariyasena was only getting paid 20% lower than the right sum.

This loss prompted him to start his own tea factory in Daduwangala which has a capacity of producing 6,000 kg of tea. With a Rs. 10 million loan from the Bank of Ceylon (BOC), he was able to get the factory running in 1990. “At the start, we were only able to produce 2,500kg of tea. With time, we were able to produce 6,000kg,” said Ariyasena.

Surviving in the tea industry

Being in the tea trade for a couple of years, Ariyasena realised that in order to survive in the industry, he had to produce more than the initial capacity of 6,000kg. “With the profit of the 6,000 kg, I expanded the factory capacity to 30,000kg.”

However, that was not the only problem he had to solve. He revealed that for a fairly newcomer, it was hard to get suppliers. “Many people were reluctant to supply me with tea leaves. They were scared to trust me since they did not know if I could survive in the industry,” said Ariyasena. What he did next was to organise little meetings in and around Ratnapura to gain their trust and in return assure them with realistic figures.

Going up the ladder

In a span of two to three years, Ariyasena was able to cover the tea production target of 30,000kg. With this achievement, he opened another factory in Parakaduwa, just five km away from Daduwangala. Ariyasena also built a CTC factory, featuring an orthodox tea section. This was later followed by his fourth factory, the Winwood Garden factory in Ingiriya – the only one situated out of Ratnapura. He noted that around 25,000 families supply the four factories and today, the factories produce five million kgs of tea annually with the help of 1,500 employees.

Zenra

Daduwangala CTC then launched its own brand, Zenra, which caters specifically to the local market. “We have produced 20 million kg of tea for the local market,” said Ariyasena.

He noted that tapping into the local market was no easy feat although they managed to do it. Zenra has 16 different flavoured teas along with green tea and a health tea.

Export market

Ariyasena also deals in providing value added tea and bulk tea and this tea is exported to around eight to 10 countries such as Palestine, Ukraine, Canada, Belarus, Taiwan and China. These exports are managed under his export line, Raindrop Tea Exports, which commenced operations two-and-a-half years ago.

Reduction of Green House Gases

Looking after these products, Ariyasena manages and maintains operations in an ethical and sustainable manner. They are currently taking measures to reduce the carbon footprint of the company and hence make the company and the environment carbon neutral. He believes that these measures have contributed in the success of his products.

Currently Ariyasena is building a Rs. 650 million multi-disciplinary private hospital in Ratnapura, a BOI-approved project, which is expected to benefit thousands of people. His sons Methmal, Kolitha and Sudaththa are also involved in the business and hope to carry on just like their father has done.

Pix by Sameera Wijesinghe