Ambassador Shobini Gunasekera, together with Embassy officials, graced the opening of the 44th franchise of Island Tea Co., the rapidly-expanding milk tea chain operated by Ceylanka Trading in the Philippines.
Island Tea Co. is a milk tea franchise currently operating with a network of 44 branches all over the country. The retail chain specializes in serving innovative and popular beverages made with high-quality tea sourced from Sri Lanka. The company aims to further expand its network to one hundred (100) branches in the country by 2022.
In her remarks, Ambassador Gunasekera extended her congratulations to Mr. Minodh De Sylva, Director and Chief Business Officer, and his very capable team for the remarkable milestone in the company’s drive to expand all-over the country despite the constraints and restrictions brought by the pandemic. She also commended Mr. De Sylva’s entrepreneurial ability in recognizing the potential of a milk tea franchise offering beverages made with the gold standard in tea, Ceylon black tea, as well as unique tea blends, in the Philippines.
She also mentioned prospective tourism promotion collaboration between the Embassy and Ceylanka Trading through the establishment of a “Sri Lanka Corner” in the tea chain’s franchisees all over the Philippines. Sri Lanka will be promoted as a pandemic stress buster destination through the showcasing of colorful videos through LED monitors and tourism brochures which will distributed to the tea chain’s clientele.
With the current trend towards health and wellness spurred by the pandemic, Ceylon tea is growing popular in the traditionally-coffee drinking market due to its world class quality and immune system boosting components. In fact, Ceylon tea ranks among Sri Lanka’s top exports to the Philippines.
