- Spa Ceylon’s Shalin Balasuriya on their latest venture into the Middle East and more
With the onset of the pandemic, the wellness industry in particular, gained well-deserved recognition. Sri Lankan’s Ayurvedic techniques became revered amongst many and the country’s renowned wellness brand Spa Ceylon jumped on the opportunity to expand further throughout the globe.
Spa Ceylon recently opened its doors in the Middle East in the Mall of Arabia, Jeddah – the first outlet to be opened in the Middle East. We spoke to Spa Ceylon Ayurveda Wellness Founder Shalin Balasuriya to find out more about this exciting new venture and what more they have in store.
Balasuriya told us that they had been looking at the Middle East as quite a potential area of business as well as part of their global expansion project. “We’ve looked at several Middle Eastern countries for the right partners and the right locations to open at. The mall we opened in is one of the premier locations in the country, so we went ahead with it,” he shared.
The management team in Sri Lanka was unfortunately not able to attend the launch due to travel restrictions from Sri Lanka to Saudi Arabia. He added that there is a lot of promotion and media happening on the brand in Saudi Arabia right now. Overall, he told us that the reception was quite good for Spa Ceylon’s first step into the country. “Prior to entering, we had also done the market research in Saudi Arabia and even then, the response to the brand was excellent so we’re looking forward to new things in the region.”
Spa Ceylon comprises a range of Ayurveda products, including the White Range and Spa by Spa Ceylon, while the company also creates its own Ayurvedic treatments. We asked Balasuriya if they made all their products available to the new store, and if newer products were introduced. He informed us that at the moment, they offer the same range of products that are available at all international stores. “Of course, certain ranges may do better than the other – even the market research showed that certain products have an affinity to the Middle Eastern market,” he explained, adding that despite this, Spa Ceylon does have a very wide range of products that cater to a wide range of consumers.
They have not yet introduced the spa as generally, they first introduce the products, but after a few more retail stores open up, there is a possibility of the spa opening in the future.
We Sri Lankans understand the long-standing tradition and history behind Ayurvedic products as it has been in our culture for centuries. We asked Balasuriya whether their foriegn clientele recognised that the product was deeply rooted in tradition and ancient science. “They do have some understanding of Ayurveda although it is fairly new to them. The way we introduce it to them on the wellness platform – describing the natural ingredients and explaining the science – we see more and more people connecting with it,” he said.
When talking about the motivation behind the global expansion, he also told Brunch that Spa Ceylon aims to bring in an aspect of wellness with bath and body care products as well as beauty products which helps them stand out and be different from other products. He added that specially in a post-Covid-19 era, they are seeing a lot of potential for the brand and many customers connecting with Spa Ceylon.
He also added that during the pandemic, we saw certain ingredients used in Ayurveda for thousands of years gain popularity: “From turmeric, coconut, ashwagandha, to ginger, and many more, are now renowned for their benefits. These are all ingredients we use in our products so it has proved to be a great point of connection with the consumer.”
Balasuriya shared that currently, Spa Ceylon has 107 stores across 26 countries, and has plans to hit 150 locations globally by the end of 2022. They are also looking at further expansion in regions like Europe, more stores in the Middle East, and a few other Asian cities that are coming on board.
“Even during the pandemic, we persevered and opened new locations – Portugal saw two new outlets; South Africa opened two new outlets that are doing well,” he informed us, revealing that Malaysia will soon be seeing a Spa Ceylon outlet as well.
As a brand, he also shared that they have become much more active online and are keeping an eye on their social media channels and are also looking to collaborate with like-minded brands internationally. The growth continues and Balasuriya shared that they see more potential for a wellness brand in the future given the Ayurveda base and all the elements they take from Sri Lankan culture.
