The Revolutionary edible packaging manufacturer, the Waffle Boy, won the National Gold Award in the Small Category and the Gold Award for the Small Category of the Western Province, at the Entrepreneur of the Year - 2018 awards ceremony organized by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industries.
Initiated in 2011, based on an experiment to expand the shelf life of Waffle Cones, the Waffle Boy had come a long way to become the market leader in the waffle cones industry in Sri Lanka. Chaturanga Kariyawasam, MD, Waffle Boy, recollecting his success story said, “The preamble for edible cups was set up when I saw two ice cream scoops were served in a plastic cup with a plastic spoon stuck in the middle. Both the cup and the spoon was soon dumped into a bin that was full of plastic waste.” He successfully manufactured the edible cup and then the edible cutlery which led to a massive demand. “I’m proud to say that these are available only in one other country in the world apart from Waffle Boy.”
With time, the company managed to introduce a range of innovative products such as edible cups, edible cutlery, different shaped tartlet shells, ready to eat fruit cocktail and instant fried rice.
Waffle Boy ventured into the hotel industry by producing various shapes of tartlet shells which were unique to the Sri Lankan market. Waffle Boy, during a very short span of time, has come along a successful journey and has won several awards including; the Best Innovator Award in the years 2015 & 2016 at the Innovators’ Day organized by the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. In 2015, the company managed to move in to its own building and obtained ISO 22000, GMP, HACCP. Currently, the company has provided 20 employment opportunities.
Chaturanga Kariyawasam thanked his staff members for their tireless contributing in achieving this remarkable feat, while his vision was to introduce new products to overseas markets and build up an international brand.
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