Elephant House Ginger Beer’s Indian exports to grow 100%

Thursday, 12 July 2012 03:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka’s Elephant House Ginger Beer (EGB) is again being exported to India following a re-design of the beverage’s label to meet that country’s new ‘green dot’ vegetarian symbol governing food and drinks entering its markets. EGB has been available in India since 2000, while also being sold in over 26 other international markets including Europe, USA, etc.

Based on order backlogs as well as heightened interest in EGB at local events such as the recently-concluded Pro Food Pro Pack 2012, where multiple import inquiries were received about it from Indian companies, company officials anticipate a 100% increase in EGB exports to India over the next few months.

Held for the eleventh year, Pro Food Pro Pack is a domestic exhibition showcasing the Sri Lankan food chain. The event was held at Colombo’s BMICH from 6 to 8 July. In addition, as the gold sponsor of Pro Food Pro Pack 2012, with the largest and most visited booth, EGB soft drinks were sampled by almost all of the approximately 26,000 visitors to this event.

First formulated by Elephant House in 1896, EGB is a local beverage which has gained high local consumer awareness due to its distinctive natural ginger taste and its ‘No EGB, No Food’ tagline. Made using natural ginger extracts, EGB only uses ginger from a sustainable agricultural sourcing initiative which was created by its parent, John Keells subsidiary Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, in partnership with the Regional Development Bank, and supported by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Involving 250 growers, on who a further 1,250 workers rely, this project has endeavoured to offer ginger growers a guarantee that they will receive a consistent income by offering them a pre-negotiated price.