Elephant House is a business partner for about 600 ginger farmers in Hatharaliyadda, Marathugoda, Poojapitiya, Haguranketha, Gampola, Gampaha, Galle, Colombo and Kurunegala.
As a brand of Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, Elephant House Ginger Beer has for nearly two decades sourced its raw ginger from smallholders. Last year, the company sourced 50 metric tonnes of dried ginger from them.
As Elephant House continues to grow its flagship brand, the soft drink EGB developed nearly a century ago based on an original recipe dating back to 1826, has witnessed a marked increase in popularity in the recent years, a company spokesman said.
To meet the growing demand for EGB, Elephant House has ramped up its ginger extraction capacity by more than four times. With investments in new extraction plants equipped with state-of-art-machinery, the company’s extraction capabilities have increased to 120,000 kg per annum.
“The major expansion of Elephant House’s ginger extraction capacity will enable the company to double its production capacity and focus on catering to the growing demand for Ginger Beer. Our investments will ensure more efficient extraction and processing from the sustainably grown ginger, benefitting our smallholder farmer population and also helping provide ever-increasing value to customers,” said President, Consumer Foods Sector at John Keells Holdings PLC, Daminda Gamlath.
The scaling up of Elephant House’s extraction capacity also presents an opportunity for ginger farmers who can productively enhance use of their acreage thereby increasing returns.
The company conducts awareness and training programs on good agricultural practices and extends community support in areas, such as health, nutrition and education. Empowering smallholder women ginger farmers to build their business is another important facet of this CSR initiative.