HJS Condiments, a subsidiary of Hayleys Agriculture Holdings Limited won the “Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Project” Award at The Best Corporate Citizen Awards 2020 organized by The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce event held recently at Cinnamon Grand.
. The award was presented to HJS Condiments for its innovative and groundbreaking project titled “Positioning of flavored Jackfruit in a ready-to-eat form in the international market as a substitute for meat”.
The Panel of Judges recognized the initiative of HJS Condiments who are successfully managing an innovative, sustainable and novel project of exporting Jack Fruit to a growing Vegan market by establishing a sustainable supply chain based on a farmer out-grower network and finding demand in the international market for the value added produce.
It is estimated that approximately 1% of the global population (74 million persons) are vegans. The global vegan food Market was valued at USD 12.69 billion in 2018 and is projected to expand at a CAGR of 9.6% from 2019 to 2025.
The Research and Development Team at HJS Condiments who constantly track world trends identified that the preferences of consumers who are looking for meat substitutes could be satisfied with Jack fruit as it has fine physical properties as a meat substitute and also provides many nutritional qualities and health benefits.
Jack fruit has remarkable health and nutritional benefits. Jackfruit is said to have a higher composition in some vitamins and minerals than apples, apricots, bananas, and avocados.
The first commercial export of Jack Fruit took place in November 2019 and is continuing with increasing volumes. The key challenge faced by exporters of plant based food items today is to establish a marketable flavour profile.
This challenge has been adequately addressed by the product development team of HJS Condiments by the introduction of a range of flavour profiles with a combination ingredients and spices to win the heart of the customers.
HJS Condiments has established a Farmer Outgrower structure with constant training and transfer of technology to ensure sustainability. Sunfrost Limited the sister company of HJS Condiments, manages the supply of gherkins and other fruits and vegetables by engaging with a number of out grower farmer Networks Island wide. Farmers who are part of this out-grower programme supply Jack Fruit to HJS Condiments and are now receiving and will continue to receive a better income with minimal effort.
Jayanthi Dharmasena, Managing Director of Hayleys Agriculture Holdings Limited stated that the project is providing a great livelihood opportunity to rural women. “Out of the foreign income-earnings we were able to pay out Rs 21 million to the farmers who supplied Jack Fruit to Hayleys from the time we started the project in 2019. The Flavoured Jack Fruit Project has certainly benefited the Farmer at the ground level.”
HJS Condiments have obtained quality certificates such as IFS, BRC, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, Fair Trade, Organic EU/USDA/JAS, FSSC 22000, HACCP, GMP, FDA, HALAL, KOSHER, SA 8000 etc.
