–Nalin Pathikirikorale
Chairman Lankpro Group Of Companies
By Joseph Thavaraja
Mc Currie (www.mccurrie.net) is a Sri Lankan spices and condiments brand that prepares to celebrate its 35th anniversary in 2019. It commands a 30% market share across Sri Lankan modern trade’s spices and condiments segment.
“Mc Currie” positioned as a “premium” brand is also a popular choice of Sri Lankans living in USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand and Maldives. Accredited with ISO 22000:2010 and ISO 14000:2015 Food Safety Systems, Halal certified and a member of SEDEX (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange), , “Mc Currie” portfolio consists of over 200 products – in pouches (whole, crushed, mixes and powders) and jars (chutneys, baduns, curries, pastes, sambols, pickles and pre-cooked gravies, etc.,)
The driving force behind “Mc Currie” is a pioneer in commodity trading in Sri Lanka; Mr. Nalin Pathikirikorale – a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, UK, and a Fellow of the Sales and Marketing Management Institute, UK. Mr. Pathikirikorale’s story spans way beyond CMI, UK and SMMI, UK. What these accreditations do not readily reveal is that he is a “low profile giant” of Sri Lanka and perhaps in the South Asian commodity trading world!
Mr. Pathikirikorale created Lankpro (Ceylon), the first international commodity broking company in Sri Lanka in 1979. Mr. Pathikirikorale’s 45 year-long commodity broking expertise spans all spices, crude oil, fertilizer, and petroleum products. Acting as the Sri Lankan agent for oil trading companies, Marc Rich and Co. Switzerland, Glencore Singapore Private Limited and the Indian Oil Corporation over long years, he has supplied over a million tons of oil and petroleum products to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. Mr. Pathikirikorale next set up Lanka Spice (Pvt) Limited in 1984, the owners of the now famous “Mc Currie” brand. He looks back at his career and life to distil powerful business lessons – not for “any” and “everyone,” but for young talent who are truly passionate about building a sustainable business.
Every entrepreneur has his or her own ways of working. For me, passion for what I do is critical for success. Teamwork and passion are the key elements of my success in addition to many others. There are many mantras in marketing and MBA circles, but if you are not passionate about what you do, and do not have a strong supportive team, you cannot make it to the top.
Q: What is your management style?
“Mc Currie” has always aimed to become the leading brand in spices, spice blends and ready-to-eat ethnic food preparations in Sri Lanka. “Passionate about Purity” is its slogan. “Mc Currie” is consensus driven and my style of “open” management has helped in stimulating my managers and workforce into a dynamic force. Our management structure is flat, with an open door policy so that any employee can approach me. We all work as a collaborative team and I don’t expect team members to call me with such honorific titles as “Sir,” etc.
Q: Are you a topline or bottom line businessman?
I am one of those businessmen who believe in PAT (Profit after Tax) which is the bottom line, rather than the top-line, which is turnover. I grasped the difference between sales and profit at an early age. I find that a lot of entrepreneurs here do not understand the difference between sales and profit. They concentrate in improving turnover at the expense of PAT.
Q: How is your turnover?
At the moment we make around Rs. 700 million annually. We plan to become a one billion rupee turnover company by 2020 but due to a slow down in the retail sector in 2018 and the current political crisis in Sri Lanka since October 26, 2018, we may have to postpone reaching that number for another two years. But we will get there sooner or later.
Q: Any other distinct approaches of your own?
Every entrepreneur has his or her own ways of working. For me, passion for what I do is critical for success. Teamwork and passion are the key elements of my success in addition to many others. There are many mantras in marketing and MBA circles, but if you are not passionate about what you do, and do not have a strong supportive team, you cannot make it to the top. When you are passionate about anything, you go right into the very depth of it.
Q: How do you motivate yourself, and your team?
I am a positive personality and do not dwell on the past or negative aspects, etc – this positive framework takes me forward. I also keep myself constantly updated with information and technology so that I am the most informed person in my industry. As far as team motivation, I do it by example, passionately devout on what I do without spending too much time on the nitty-gritty – I focus on the macro and innovations to take this company forward. I have a highly motivated team who are equally passionate as I am , about what they do.
Q: How did you overcome challenges and threats to your business?
I don’t think anything is a threat to your business provided your fundamentals are right. Everybody has to eat rice and curry and therefore ours is a recession proof business. The sustainability of this business is virtually guaranteed and secure. And if we produce the best product in the market, that will always sell. Our brand “Mc Currie” has come to stay with the housewives of Sri Lanka.
Q: What are your expansion plans?
The basic condiments used in Sri Lankan households do not vary drastically – you will always need to use spices. But if you do not innovate and bring new ideas and new products, you could end up as a Mr. Nobody. If you bring out successful, convenient products, you become a outstanding brand that consumers will seekeven at a higher price point. We are not a cheap brand – we are a premium, high quality brand. For example, you can source Grade II or III lower quality chillies and put it in to the market at cheaper prices, but I am not into that type of trade. I produce the best quality products at a higher price for the consumer who seeks clean, pure, premium products.
Q: Expansion overseas?
We currently serve mainly Sri Lankan communities abroad with our products. Sri Lankans living in USA. Canada, UK, Europe,Middle East, Australia, New Zealand and Maldives, buy our products all the time. I have not explored the bigger market as yet which we need to concentrate in the future.
Q: Dwight D. Eisenhower a former US President, said this about the supreme quality of leadership. “The supreme quality of leadership is unquestionably, integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office”. – What do you think about that?
I totally agree. 100% true – If you are not serious and responsible as a citizen of the country, you cannot be successful and will not relate to the community well being. You have to stand out so that nobody can point fingers at you. Honesty and integrity are essential factors for a successful business or brand. This is perhaps surprising given the image of entrepreneurs as people who take opportunities without too much thought as to the consequence to others. Some people think that there is no such thing as an honest entrepreneur and that you have to “cut corners” and “sail close to the wind” if you are to make it as an entrepreneur in today’s competitive world. This is a view I do not share!
Q: This is the idea of Eisenhower. Still, you may have your own philosophy that has driven you for many years. Can you tell us?
I read a lot. I do not have any spiritual beliefs and I am a rationalist. I learned a lot from sports and it taught me to work with other people. Since I anticipate the worst. I am prepared for any crisis, I never faced a crisis in my life. In my youth, I was highly influenced by the writings of Abraham T. Kovoor, President of the Ceylon Rationalist Association – I never missed his “The Ceylon Rationalist Ambassador” newsletter. I also widely read British philosopher Bertrand Russell, especially two books of his – “Why I am not a Christian” and “The will to doubt.” These writers had an influence on me in addition to lessons I learnt at the Royal College hostel and from my life’s own experience. These writers taught me that the strength is within me and not with some outside forces.
Q: Briefly, your business journey so far?
I am someone who knows the international commodity trade as well as the local spice industry. I started life dealing with spices as commodities – I did not handle tea, rubber and coconuts. I left for London thereafter, worked as a commodity trader, trading spices, grains, petroleum and fertilizers. My 45 yearlong commodity experience spans all spices, crude oil and petroleum products. After returning to Sri Lanka, I acted as the Sri Lankan agent for oil trading companies, Marc Rich and Company Switzerland, Glencore Singapore Private Limited and Indian Oil Corporation. – I acted on behalf of them for many years. I created Lankpro (Ceylon) Limited, in partnership with my British employer and it was the first international commodity broking company in Sri Lanka. “Mc Currie” was established by me in 1984 as a joint venture with UK’s Marpro Ltd, my British employer
Q: Key markets of “Mc Currie?”
We mainly sell in the Sri Lankan market. Our products are exported where pockets of Sri Lankans live. Wherever there are pockets of Sri Lankans abroad, that is our export market. Our main base therefore is Sri Lanka and mainly the Modern Trade (supermarkets) channels. We are not selling through general trade at present. In fact our “Mc Currie’’ started way before any supermarket chains started in Sri Lanka. 30% of the spice and condiments market in Sri Lanka’s modern trade belong to “Mc Currie.” We entered the ready-to-eat market with chutneys, sambols and pickles, etc., in 2004, setting up a 2nd factory in the Nalanda Industrial Zone in the Matale District to start with a range of ready-to-eat products. We introduced the Masala range which consists of precooked curry sauces for chicken, fish, cuttlefish, mutton/ beef. The recipes for the masala range were developed by Singapore Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research (SISIR), based on the Singapore Banana Leaf Restaurants, when I was living in Singapore. This range is now available to Sri Lankans through all the modern trade channels and from our own showrooms.
Q: Does “Mc Currie” have a research and development wing?
Yes, we have a very strong R & D Department. Constantly we are innovating and developing new products for the convenience of housewives in Sri Lanka. We recently introduced the “Kirihodi Mix” which can be used for any white curry. Also we introduced the “Maldive Fish Spread” which can be used like Marmite on bread. We develop a new product and test it in our showrooms for six months before we introduce it to the supermarkets.
Q: Is this a competitive advantage?
There is not much competition for ready-to-eats in modern trade and we at “Mc Currie” have this market mostly to ourselves. As a matter of principle, we do not worry about competition, but expect them to worry about us!
Q: But you have 30% of modern trade but that leaves the balance 70% to competition?
Winning also depends on our capacity to expand and compete. You need to have steady supplies and production capacities. We are buying new machinery from India and once they arrive we will expand our market share. At the moment we produce 85 tons of dry products and 50,000 jar products monthly. We are constantly expanding our range. You can never hope to capture the entire market.
Q: How fast is the “Mc Currie” range moving?
Reasonably fast. We work on sales forecasts given by our sales and marketing team. We do not hold buffer stocks for long periods – maximum is a month. It will move even faster once we enter the General trade.
Q: Your products have a regular demand with an assured market that does not fluctuate much – Why do you make forecasts?
That’s not really true – the basic spices ordinarily used in households can be bought from general trade such as grocery shops. But branded products are trusted and have a consumer base – because these spices are sorted, cleaned and processed. Still we have to forecast, else we will produce goods we cannot sell. Some of these items are high priced and we cannot hold them in inventory, which we update all the time. Since we are solely in modern trade, we roughly know how much we need to supply for each supermarket chain. Since we sell through modern trade – this means we have to dispense a good portion of the MRP marked on the product for the channel, for them to facilitate our products to be on their shelves. High quality means certifications too. We are accredited with ISO 22000:2010 and ISO 14000:2015 Food Safety Systems, Halal certified and a member of SEDEX (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange). We are applying for EU certification for our fish products such as Maldive Fish Sambol.
Q: How about listing “Mc Currie” in the bourse for its continuity?
As a single owner, I built this business from nothing. I have been thinking of how to take the company to its next stage. I didn’t know what to do since my two sons who were living abroad were not interested in taking over the business. But now my second son has agreed to give up his corporate career in China and join me in my business – thus no plans to go for listing of “Mc Currie” unless my son wants to do so. The continuity of the business therefore is not a worry anymore.
Q: If you were given a choice to do your entrepreneurial journey all over again, what sector would you choose?
My life has been a brocess learning about soft commodities such as spices. If I were to change , it would probably be for eco-tourism. At present I am toying with the idea to set up a “natural spring” well based Air BnB nature-resort in my ancestral property off Galle – It could be my next venture, after retirement in two years time.
Q: What is your advice to budding entrepreneurs?
Be passionate about what you do. If you are passionate, you will be successful, otherwise you will fail. If you do not know what you are doing, you will be a failure. Work with a team, get your fundamentals right, do not be in a hurry for results. Avoid “deal” culture through using influence, rather work on fundamentals. Finances are also important. Try not to borrow unless it is for CAPEX. Plow back your profits in the business. Entrepreneurs are unique. No two entrepreneurs are the same. Some start from poverty, others begin with wealth, some are young and some old. The only thing common to all is that they habitually create and innovate to build something of a recognized value around perceived opportunities. They grasp the difference between sales and profits. They have talent, temperament and technique. These attributes come with time, but never give up on the journey once begun.
Q: Are you writing your biography?
Who will read it? May be when I retire in two years. Lots of my friends want it. I will do it only if I develop a passion for it ! bmd