Mayfair awarded SLSI certification

The Sri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI) awarded Mayfair Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. the SLSI 1265 certification in recognition of its commitment to quality and safety in manufacturing bubble gum in Colombo.

Mayfair (Pvt) Ltd., a company of the Eswaran Brothers was set up in 1997 as a BOI approved pioneering project.

Director, Mayfair (Pvt) Ltd. M. F. Hassen said since its presence in the Sri Lankan market Mayfair has established a strong market leadership. Hassen said the company started working with the SLSI in 2003 to formulate a standard to offer consumers a hygienic product to meet international standards.

Mayfair exported the first consignment of bubble gum to India in 1999 and increased its market presence in the South Indian states. Thereafter, the brand was exported to Male, Middle East and Africa.

Exports to India were strengthened with the benefits under the Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement, he said. Bubble gum is consumed mostly by children between 6-14 and has an average sale of 60-80 tons per month.

As a product of the FMCG category, bubble gum is marketed in over 75,000 retail outlets throughout the country. Director General SLSI, Shirani Weragoda said most of the cheaper brands that flood the markets are of low quality and do not provide proper information on the ingredients used in the product.

She said the local market has plenty of the cheaper and low quality products using substandard raw materials that do not conform to SLSI standards. Stringent measures will be taken against those manufacturers who do not comply with the safety standards of the SLSI, she said.

LF