CBL Wins Highest Number of Awards YetAgain at the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards

Muncheenamedboth Local and CSR Brand of the Year

Ceylon Biscuits Limited (CBL) triumphed at the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards 2016, heldat the BMICH, on 08 November 2016, walkingawaywith 8 awards in total, makingit the onlycompany to win a clutchas many as 8 awardsat thisyear’sceremony. CBL’sflagship brand, Munchee, wasbestowedwith 2 Gold awards as ‘CSR Brand of the Year’ and ‘Local Brand of the Year’. Munchee won a further 2 Silver Awards for ‘Product Brand of the Year’ and ‘Innovative Brand of the Year’, while the newly-launchedMunchee Ringo bagged a Bronze award for ‘Best New Entrant Brand’.

CBL’schocolate brand, Ritzbury,received 3 Silverawards for ‘Local Brand of the Year’, ‘Product Brand of the Year’ and ‘Innovative Brand of the Year’, the last two won jointlywithMunchee. Overall, CBL was the companythat won the highestnumber of awardsthisyear. CBL has won a record 13 awards at a previousedition of the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards.

CBL’swinning portfolio at the 2016 SLIM Brand Excellence Awards included: MuncheewinningProduct Brand of the Year – Silver; Local Brand of the Year – Gold; CSR Brand of the Year – Gold; Innovative Brand of the Year – Silver. WhilstRitzbury won The Product of the Year – Silver; Innovative Brand of the Year – Silver; Local Brand of the Year – Silver and Best New Entrant Brand of the Year – Bronze for Munchee Ringo.

Commenting on the company’sstellar performance at the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards 2016 Nandana Wickramage -Group Director/Head of Marketing & Sales,Ceylon Biscuits Limited said “We are proud and delighted to earn the distinction of being the onlycompany to win the highestnumber of awards at the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards thisyear. Our flagship brand Munchee has repeatedlydemonstrateditssuperiority as a local brand and weremaincommitted to sustainingthis leadership position for whatis the country’sforemost brand. Wesaluteourconsumers, traders, distributors and otherstakeholders for theircontinued support and patronage thatenables us to reachthis mark of excellence. This achievementreflectsourcommitment to ourcustomers and theirpreference of ourproducts. Of particularsignificance to us is the factthatMunchee’s CSR programmes have been heralded as the best in the country. The brand focuses on the sustainablepillars of Education, Arts and Culture, Sports, DisasterResponse and Uplifting the Community. Projects to preventschooldropouts, workshops for pre-schoolchildren and parents, teacher training programmes and edutainment programmes to promoteeducation are ongoing. Webelievethatour brand excellence emanatesfromoursustainable and ethicalmanufacturing practices and corporatestewardship best practices.”

The ‘MuncheeSamagaGamata Sarana’ is an initiative focused on communitydevelopmentactivities. However, its contribution by way of providingmuchneeded infrastructure facilities for education stands tallamongstothers. The initiative thus far encompasses the building of drinking water systems, construction of school buildings and libraries, donation of computer labs and provision of electricity to schools, construction of mini bridges as well as community centres and communityhealth centres.  Around 100 projectscarried out thus far have directlybenefitted over 100,000 Sri Lankans in needy areas.

 The MuncheeShishyadaraprojectbringsmanybenefits to schoolchildren and preventsagainstdropping out of school. Discussions are heldwith the key figures involved in the child’s life; the school principal and governmentofficers in the area, and the childis put back in school and providedwithfinancial support to continue his or herstudies. Manychildren have been supportedthroughthis initiative

Anothernoteworthy initiative of the companyissupportingSri Lanka’snational sport throughthe National Volleyball Championshipat the national level to promote the sport. The ‘CSR Brand of the Year’ wasawardedbased on Munchee’s contribution towards the well-being and sustainability of the community.

The SLIM Brand Excellence Awards Ceremonyisorganizedannually by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM), to recognize the excellence of brands’ performance in all aspects and theirachievement in withstandingprevailingchallenges in the marketplace.