Entrepreneur with an eye for good food

by Ruwanthi Abeyakoon

FOOD: Managing Director, Ruhunu Royal Industries, Jagath Karunanayake pours all his efforts to provide the nation with quality and nutritious food. He manufactures food items such as noodles, papadam, chili powder, curry powder, pepper powder, meat curry, fish curry, kurakkan flour, and maldivefish sambol at his factory in Kekanadura, Matara. Starting his career as a baker today he has emerged as a well-known businessman in Southern Province.

"I manufacture around 20 items. I bought grinding machines and mixture machines to commence the business. I also have machines used to make noodles. We buy Uludu flour and make papadam in the factory. We also buy chillies, pepper, and turmeric from the market. We grind and powder them before delivering to the customers. We make quality and safe products," he said.

Karunanayake has started this business in 1990. "Before I started this business I was running a bakery. I used to bake bread, buns and cakes. I started this on a small scale. While attending to the work in the bakery I realized that there is a good demand for these products.