Motha celebrates 50 years of excellence

* 25 year-old success story with Delmege Distributors

Motha Jelly this year celebrates 50 years of excellence … tantalizing the taste buds of millions of Sri Lankans of all ages. What began way back in 1960 as a small family business of manufacturing hard boiled sweets and toffees later changed over to jelly which is now a household name today.

The Motha brand since then grown to encompass several other well known products such as Quick Set Jelly (Moss Jelly), Diet Jelly, Faluda Mix, Pudding Mixes such as Caramel and Chocolate pudding, ingredients such as Icing Sugar, Baking Powder, Gelatine, Cornflour, Essences and Colouring which cater to several millions of consumers across geographical boundaries all over Sri Lanka, as well as overseas.

Way back in 1920, in pre-Independence Ceylon, Mr. Tiburtius Motha began importing confectionaries and jellies from the UK and marketed them to local consumers with great success. Four decades later, the import restrictions slapped in the early 1960s were to dramatically change the course of Motha’s entrepreneurial journey.

The current Chairman of Motha Confectionary Works Pvt Ltd, Mr. Julius Motha had joined the family business by that time, and, together with his brother, began manufacturing toffees and jellies. The first Motha jelly to hit the local market was ‘Motha Strawberry Jelly’ and there was no turning back. It proved to be an instant hit and took Sri Lankan consumers by storm.

With a favourable response from consumers islandwide, the Motha brothers next added custards and blancmanges to the portfolio. As the brand grew more and more popular with consumers, they kept asking for newer flavours and variants. This led to the addition of newer flavours and variants which were to take the brand to new heights.

Twenty five years down the line in 1985 as Motha grew and needed a highly professional marketing set up, the Company looked around for “the most suitable distributor” for its products. The obvious choice was Delmege, with its island wide network, reach and expertise.

Today in 2010, Motha celebrates its Golden Jubilee, and parallely, a 25 year successful partnership with Delmege Distributors Pvt Ltd.

Looking back on half a century of success, Chairman of Motha Confectionary Works Pvt Ltd, Mr. Julius Motha said, “We’re proud to have nurtured a wholly Sri Lankan brand with great success for so many years. This in fact one of the very few Sri Lankan brands to celebrate 50 years. The fact that Motha Jelly has withstood the test of time over half a century, and still remains a household name, speaks volumes for the product.”

CEO of Delmege Distributors Pvt Ltd Mr. Dinesh Nalliah said that the Company has met with great success taking Motha products to all corners of Sri Lanka. “The Motha brand has been pro-actively adapting to varied consumer demands and changes while at the same time re-energizing the product portfolio. With a brand such as this … one of the top brands in Sri Lanka’s FMCG industry and also a market leader in most of the product segments, it does make our task much tougher as well as challenging. This has been a very productive 25 year old partnership and we look forward to even greater success in the next 25 years”.

Commenting on the markets in the North and East, Mr. Nalliah said, “Even during the war, Motha products reached consumers in those areas on a relatively ad-hoc basis. However since the end of the war, the demand has improved dramatically and triggered a marked rise in sales.

Motha products are currently marketed to overseas markets such as UK, the USA, Canada, Australia, Italy, the Maldives, India and the Middle East.

Photo caption: (Bottom - from left) Dinesh Nalliah, CEO - Delmege Distributors Pvt Ltd, Shamil Mendis – Chairman Delmege Distributors Pvt Ltd, Julius Motha, Chairman - Motha Confectionary Works Pvt Ltd, Nihal Wijeratne – CEO –Motha Confectionary Works Pvt Ltd and Dilhan de Silva – Group CEO - Delmege Forsythe Pvt Ltd

(Top): Chairman of Motha Confectionary Works Pvt Ltd Julius Motha (left) launches the Motha 50th anniversary Television Commercial. Also in the picture is Shamil Mendis, Chairman Delmege Distributors Pvt Ltd.