Reliance To Bring Sri Lankan Brand Maliban Biscuit To India

The fast-moving consumer goods arm of Reliance Retail Ltd. has signed a strategic deal with Maliban Biscuit Manufactories Pvt. to bring the Sri Lankan biscuit brand to India.

The deal comes as Reliance Retail Ltd. aims to fortify its position in the country's highly competitive packaged biscuits market, which is dominated by Britannia Industries Ltd., ITC Ltd. and Parle Products Pvt.

"Reliance and Maliban will develop unique value propositions that will strengthen Reliance Consumer Products Ltd.'s portfolio in the biscuit segment," Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd. said in a statement on Tuesday.

Established in 1954, Maliban is a household name in Sri Lanka and well-known for its range of quality products, including biscuits, crackers, cookies and wafers, which is sold in 1 lakh stores in the island nation.

The company has expanded its products reach to global markets and exports to over 35 countries across five continents. It produces 25 million packs of biscuits every month, according to its website.

"With this strategic partnership between RCPL and Maliban, we will not only be strengthening our FMCG portfolio through a great brand but will also be able to offer an excellent value proposition through quality products to our Indian consumers," Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd.'s Executive Director Isha Ambani said.

"With a leading market position, Maliban has deep-rooted heritage and credibility. Being the custodian of several widely known global brands in India, Reliance is well-positioned to further expand the excellent consumer equity and reach that Maliban has built over 70 years," Ambani said.

Kumudika Fernando, managing director of the Maliban Group, said the complementary strengths of the two organisations would "enable us to bring the unique and highly-sought-after tastes of Maliban to India's discerning consumers".

Reliance Retail launched its packaged consumer products brand, 'Independence', in December 2022, and is creating a distinct and dedicated retail distribution network for its "fast-expanding" FMCG portfolio.

With this, Reliance is seeking to challenge some of the world's biggest consumer groups like Nestle India Ltd., Unilever Plc, PepsiCo Inc. and Coca-Cola Co., which have been operating for decades in India.

The consumer goods push, under a vertical named Reliance Consumer Products Ltd., comes on top of billionaire Mukesh Ambani's brick-and-mortar store network of more than 2,000 grocery outlets and ongoing expansion of JioMart e-commerce operations in India's nearly $900-billion retail market, one of the world's biggest.