By Dimithri Wijesinghe
Saaraketha Organics is a home-grown enterprise founded by Prasanna Hettiarachchi together with his wife Charitha Hettiarachchi in 2011. The initiative, which was originally a fresh produce company, has since expanded to spices, grains, pulses, sweeteners, and other ingredients that constitute a healthy diet. They employ an ecommerce platform to provide access to their services and are both export and home delivery focused.
We spoke to Prasanna, Founder and visionary of Saaraketha, who believes in the realistic transition of Lankan consumption to organic food as opposed to chemical-laden produce that we consume today. He shared that it is his belief that to eat good, clean, and ethically produced food is a fundamental right not only reserved for the affluent.
Considering how Sri Lankans are particularly set in their ways and as we often tend to scoff at anything that is other than what we’ve been doing all this time, we asked Prasanna about the task he has taken upon himself to change the minds of possibly the most bull-headed people on the planet and he shared that surprisingly enough, there is a lot of awareness amongst the people and a willingness to change; the obstacle they have faced is making it more accessible to the people.
Saaraketha wants to establish a healthy food culture, bringing products from farm to table in a traceable manner, whilst exploring product developments that could catalyse new consumption habits.
Why it is expensive and how it’s changing
Prasanna shared with us the nature of production of organic food, especially what lends to its specific price point. He shared that they do grow their produce entirely free of harmful chemicals and or pesticides, and as a certified organic food producer, they have an accreditation which guarantees their authenticity. However, this certification is not easy to come by, he said.
In order to receive this accreditation, Prasanna shared that all their supply chains are rigorously audited, from the process to the soil and water to the leaf; all of this is tested in an international laboratory as Sri Lanka does not have the facility to test for traces of pesticides and chemicals in fresh produce. He said that this of course is necessary as they do export organic produce – necessary but very costly.
He also added that they make produce which they call “ready to consume” as the product is triple washed and packaged in customised packing material which increases the shelf life of the product. He said that usually, when you purchase conventionally produced items, you would often see 15-30% of processed waste – that is, in 1 kg of tomatoes, there will be a few that you cannot use, a few you will throw away or parts of which you must peel away. However, what Saaraketha offers is “zero waste”, where you are able to consume 100% of your purchased produce.
He said that in following these principles they have adopted, indeed their price points are different to the conventional item. However, considering that his mission is to ensure that everyone, and not only those who can afford it, have access to eating clean and healthy, they have made some effort to bring their price points down.
One method they have adopted is the establishment of one of Sri Lanka’s largest greenhouse complexes, which has allowed them to not be affected by seasonality. And in the last three months, Prasanna shared that they have been able to slice the prices by 30%.
Effects of the pandemic
With regards to the effects of the pandemic, we asked Prasanna about the nature of his business as it stands now. He shared that their products have, by default, become essential items, and they have moved from delivering possibly 200 orders a week to 700 orders a day, and as one could imagine, they have had to make some changes.
To begin with, he said that they scrapped their delivery fees, because from the outset they acknowledged that people are struggling, and it is a challenge. He said they made attempts to do so in order to strike an equilibrium in providing fairly to their suppliers, while also being affordable to the consumer in these difficult times.
He referred to some of the more specific changes they have had to make on account of the pandemic, sharing that they have had to take a look at the internal controls of their operation and take a look at their employees, whom unlike many other industries have had to work 24/7 during the lockdown; primarily to ensure their safety, to maintain contactless production and supply.
He shared that they have had to come up with innovative solutions to provide for the increased demand, to expand their capacity and partner with many other parties to provide for their travel limitations as they had to drastically expand their operation. He shared that there are many elements to look at when you are running this kind of production; they have had instances where they would have to go to Anuradhapura to pick up their produce, whilst the locals and farmer would be uncomfortable when a lorry from Colombo enters their space, and they would then get the PHIs involved, etc.
The future of consumption and production
Prasanna shared that in light of the pandemic, they have certainly learnt to fast track the streamlining of their production, which has possibly allowed them to speed up their timeline in making their produce more accessible.
He also referred to the increased awareness amongst the general public, and the perception towards organic food and eating healthy changing for the better, after having originally having started supplying to more mature markets. He shared that it really hadn’t taken long for the island’s mentality to catch up. He said that people want to eat healthy and they know that chemical-laden food is bad for you and that change needs to be made.
We also asked Prasanna about the support he has received form the authorities, particularly the Government, in helping him with his cause, and he shared that it has been quite encouraging as there is an undertaking by the authorities that eating healthy and organically should be encouraged. He said that there have been directives for state and private sector banks to lend to the agriculture sector and the overall response towards indigenous production and also the accompanying policy shifts, have been encouraging to see.
