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One-stop shop for Sri Lankan foodstuff

Heartland General Trading Co. began as a humble foodstuff distributor in 2001 and has now expanded beyond conventional limits

The first and currently one of the leading distributors for Sri Lankan foodstuff in the country, Heartland General Trading Co. had its humble beginnings in Dubai 19 years ago, with just three staff members. It was established with an aim to assemble, develop and sustain a network capable of facilitating a full-fledged import and export platform for dry foodstuff across countries completely hassle-free. What began as a mission to provide for the Sri Lankan community in the United Arab Emirates has since ex­panded far beyond those initial boundaries.

The Heartland Difference

Mohamed Fazal Mawjood

Chairman and Managing Director

Under the leadership of Chairman and Managing Director Mohamed Fazal Maw¬jood, the company grew from distributing a small line of Sri Lankan ethnic products to importing and exporting frozen sea¬food in four short years. Creating a global network, the company began importing seafood from Vietnam, Mexico, Oman, USA, Taiwan and Thailand among others, and exporting to Sri Lanka, Malaysia, China and Japan. With this network, over the next five years, the company diversi¬fied its offering of agri-food commodities to include pulses, lentils, grains and frozen meat products. Today the company has organised their operations into two divisions -retail distribution and agri-food commodity trade. Presently, Heart¬land continues to expand their activities as they gear up to launch an online vend¬ing platform for their extensive range of fast-moving consumer good products, focused on increasing efficiency and convenience of service for both consumers and retail stockists. Their customers will also soon be privy to a premium line of Sri Lankan foodstuff, boasting authentic flavours produced from high quality ingredients. With a record of excellent service and procedure in the past, the scope of broadening the scale of these new ven¬tures is at its peak.

Sahajahan Fareedu

Marketing Manager

At present, Heartland General Trading Co. has over 470 clients including whole¬sale distributors, hotels, restaurants, su¬permarkets and large retailers. These include several well-known local super¬markets across the country. Since its launch, the company has been continually upgrading its storage and distribution facilities in Dubai and Fujairah to cater to their growing clientele and ensure consistently high standards of service. Their marketing and retail division has grown from its early stages to become one of the leading distribution operations in the country due to the remarkable drive and dedication of Marketing Manager Sahajahan Fareedu and his team. Heartland has an extensive product assortment of 200 daily staples and fast-moving con¬sumer goods such as spices, flour, rice, noodles, condiments, snacks and conve¬nience foods. The company stocks a num¬ber of renowned brands including their own flagship labels, Kelani Lanka and Golden Range. Among their diverse cli¬entele, popular products include red rice, spices, noodles and canned mackerel. They have recently begun distributing a range of organic coconut-sourced prod¬ucts, all of which have been greeted with immense popularity.

Coconut Craze

Heartland recently began distributing organic coconut-derived products which have rapidly gained popularity. These include coconut sugar, coconut nectar, coconut milk powder and king coconut water - all sourced from organic Sri Lankan coconuts.

The company also regularly participates in social initiatives. Last year, during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the company provided meals and pantry essentials to unemployed persons in the UAE. They are continuously working to provide chil¬dren with access to education in Sri Lanka, and are principal sponsors of Sri Lankan events held across the Emirates.

"We wish for a deep sense of unity among Sri Lankans today. We extend our appreciation to the GCC Sri Lankan community for choosing us for their taste of home over the past 19 years."

Mohamed Fazal Mawjood

Chairman and Managing Director