Q: How has Fortune evolved since its inception?

A: Fortune is a flagship brand of Pyramid Wilmar, a joint venture between Pyramid Oil Mills and what is positioned as Asia’s largest integrated agribusiness group Wilmar International, which is present in more than 60 countries. Today, Pyramid Wilmar manufactures, markets and distributes the Fortune, Masterline, MeadowLea and Fondre brands in Sri Lanka.

The Fortune brand has been entrenched in Sri Lanka since 2005. Initially, it was imported from India and later, Malaysia and Indonesia. Thereafter, a state-of-the-art refinery was set up in Muthurajawela, which is one of the largest oil refineries in the country today. The entire range of Fortune cooking oils is now produced in our own manufacturing facilities, which are accredited with international food hygiene, quality and environmental certifications.

Fortune Edible Oil is rated the number one cooking oil in Sri Lanka (according to the LMRB Household Panel). After years of extensive strategising and successful market building, Pyramid Wilmar is able to ensure that every household in the nation has access to premium quality cooking oil at an affordable price.

Sajjad Mawzoon
Managing Director
Pyramid Wilmar

Q: What measures do you take to make the brand more accessible to consumers, given the present challenging economic environment?

A: The company possesses a supply chain integration advantage given Wilmar International’s role as the largest agribusiness group in Asia. This ensures ‘farm to plate’ integration. We also have a strong network of distributors islandwide along with a portfolio of wide-ranging products.

Our pricing, promotion and communication play a huge role in making our brand accessible. Considering that the branded oil category constitutes less than 10 percent of the total edible oil market (as outlined by LMRB), we are focussed on converting the loose oil consumer base to branded oils, which is more high quality and hygienic.

The Fortune brand caters to a wide customer base ranging from the retail, corporate and HORECA (hotels, restaurants and catering) to the government sectors, making it accessible to customers from all walks of life.

Q: And what are Pyramid Wilmar’s commercial priorities when it comes to operating in a volatile market?

A: Our priority is the bottom line – but we are committed to extending value for money for end consumers without compromising quality. The company has all quality standards in place, both international and local, along with superior testing facilities in our laboratories to ensure product quality and safety.

Q: How does Fortune look to maintain a consistent image in the prevailing dynamic digital marketing space?

A: Our marketing communication strategy is always aligned across above and below the line strategies, and we are very consistent in our communication. The brand is present across social media and enjoys a huge following on Facebook. And the brand ensures its content is relevant to the target group and engages regularly with the follower base.

“Our marketing communication strategy is always aligned across above the line and below the line strategies”

Q: What are the future plans for Pyramid Wilmar and Fortune as a brand?

A: The company has been expanding to areas where it can enjoy a competitive edge – for example, soya meat, vegetable ghee and icing sugar – to make the Fortune brand a must-have in all households.

It is an honour and privilege to be recognised as a most loved brand by Brand Finance and LMD, and this inspires us to keep doing what we do even better. The challenge for us is to bring more and more consumers into the branded oil category.

Even though the fallout of the economic crisis directly impacted our business – especially the import restrictions, exchange rate fluctuations and so on – we ensured that our pricing continued to offer value for money to consumers even if it meant our margins reduced. Our aim was to give consumers an affordable, high quality product.

Q: Pyramid Wilmar was awarded ‘Great Place To Work’ certification. Could you provide a brief background on what led to this recognition and what it means to the organisation?

A: The Pyramid Wilmar Group was certified a great workplace by the independent analysts at Great Place to Work® in Sri Lanka. It earned this credential based on extensive ratings provided by employees in an anonymous survey conducted by Great Place to Work® wherein 96 percent of those surveyed said that they are happy to work in the company.

Pyramid Wilmar’s strongest attribute remains the commitment to live to our core strengths, within which considerable emphasis is placed on the strength of employees.

– Compiled by Yamini Sequeira

Telephone 4542911  |  Email pwpl@pyramidwilmar.com  |  Website www.pyramidwilmar.com