Heyday for local biscuits

The biscuit business in Bangladesh is growing fast. In fact, it has grown to such an extent that after meeting the domestic demand, the country has started exporting biscuits.

According to the Bangladesh Auto Biscuits and Bread Manufacturer’s Association (BABBMA), the local market is growing at 15 per cent per year.
The bakery industry consists of around 4,500–5,000 biscuit and bread manufacturers. Around 100 automated factories operate in the country. These include 10–15 mega factories, 35 large factories, and 50 medium-sized factories.
BABBMA president Shafiqur Rahman Bhuiyan told The Independent, “We are exporting biscuits to 144 countries and earning around Tk. 480 crore now. The importers include Saudi Arabia, African and European nations, Australia, and Malaysia, among others,” he added.
Anticipating more demand in future, he said, “Earlier, we used to import Lexus biscuits from Malaysia. Now, we produce and export Lexus to Malaysia. They are made by Danish Foods Ltd.”
“If quality is ensured, export would increase even further,” he added. The local market is worth about Tk. 5,000 crore at present, he said.
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics reported in its 25006 Economic Census that there were around 246 medium-sized food-processing industries in Bangladesh. These employ 19 per cent of the industrial manufacturing workforce and 8 per cent of the total manufacturing labour force. The food industry employs 2.45 per cent of the country’s total labour force. Its share in the GDP was 2.01 per cent in 2010.
According to the Bangladesh Bread, Biscuit, and Confectionery Manufacturers’ Association (BBBCMA), around 50 to 60 lakh people are directly and indirectly working in this sector.
But why is there a sudden growth of this sector? Dip Hasnayin, a bank employee, tried to explain: “The consumer’s lifestyle is changing. People have less time for cooking. So, biscuits are not treated as snacks anymore. It has become an essential commodity in our society.”

Not an easy bite
Manufacturers and industry insiders believe that the competition with international biscuit brands is the biggest challenge local manufacturers have been facing for long.
The general manager (sales and marketing) of Olympic Industries Ltd, Quazi Touhiduzzaman, however, pointed out the advantages local brands have over foreign ones. It usually takes three months to import foreign biscuits. And the price is three times higher than that of local biscuits.
“To protect our local brands, the government has imposed an import tax on foreign biscuits. Therefore, the opportunity is open to produce quality biscuits, and the demand for local biscuits has also risen,” Touhiduzzaman added.
BABBMA president Shafiqur Rahman Bhuiyan pointed to another challenge: “Wheat is the primary ingredient for making biscuits, and 80 per cent of that is imported. So, the quality of biscuits depends on the quality of the imported wheat.”
He also pointed out, “The online VAT system will be implemented soon. It will be the biggest challenge for customers to adapt themselves to the system to be implemented.”
A BBBCMA official explained: “Most of the manufacturers do not have big research labs to experiment with products. So, we need more government support to build more labs.” Bhuiyan agreed with him and said labs were needed to ensure food safety standards, too.

Innovation is the key
Touhiduzzaman, however, said that they had a ‘research cell’ to develop innovative and unique products to meet consumers’ taste and preferences.
“Our technicians always try to come up with innovative designs and ideas to make the product more unique,” he added.
Bhuiyan said, “At this moment, we have the capacity to outsource and make quality biscuits for other countries. If we can develop recipes to suit the tastes of developed countries like Germany and Switzerland, and develop quality products for them, we can earn more foreign currency.”
Responding to a question, Bhuiyan said the Agro-Food Industry Skill Council had been formed to deal with occupational training, skill development, and food safety.

The price advantage
An official of Hashem Foods Ltd, requesting anonymity, said the quality of local biscuits had improved greatly over the last 10–15 years. Flavours have changed according to consumers’ choices and demands.
Giving an example, he said, “We have recently started manufacturing the ‘Black Cream Biscuit’, which completely resembles the ‘Cadbury Oreo’ that we used to import. It cost thrice as much as the local one.”
Explaining his company’s brands, Touhiduzzaman said, “We have segmented our brands into two parts—biscuits, and cookies and bakery. We have 33 types of biscuits.” The ‘cookies’ area comprises dry cakes, ‘badaam’ cookies, and the daily toast.
Touhiduzzaman said that, every year, new companies were starting the production of fresh, unique, and quality biscuits to change the taste of local consumers as well as to export their products.
Reedisha Food and Beverage Ltd also revealed its plan to manufacture biscuits for the local market, he informed.
After 15–20 years, this sector will expand and contribute a chunk to our GDP growth and economy, he feels. The Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution monitors every step to ensure the quality of the products.

Quality matters
The owner of a Rana Food retail store, Abul Kalam Azad, told The Independent that biscuits of various brands were available in their shop. “These biscuits are 100 per cent hygienic and come in sealed packets,” he said.
Touhiduzzaman explained, “To ensure hygiene and food safety, 35–40 automated factories are engaged in making biscuits. These are entirely made using machines to ensure food safety standards.”
He also said that Olympic was exporting biscuits to countries such as Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia, and 5 lakh people were directly or indirectly working for the company.
Founded in 1979, Olympic Industries Ltd is the largest manufacturer, distributor, and marketer of biscuits in Bangladesh.
Bhuiyan said the packaging of branded biscuits has also developed a lot over the last five to 10 years to attract all types of consumers.

Heyday for local biscuits

The biscuit business in Bangladesh is growing fast. In fact, it has grown to such an extent that after meeting the domestic demand, the country has started exporting biscuits. According to the Bangladesh Auto Biscuits and Bread Manufacturers Association (BABBMA), the local market is growing at 15 per cent per year. The bakery industry consists of around 4,5005,000 biscuit and bread manufacturers. Around 100 automated factories operate in the country. These include 1015 mega factories, 35 large factories, and 50 medium-sized factories. BABBMA president Shafiqur Rahman Bhuiyan told The Independent, We are exporting biscuits to 144 countries and earning around Tk. 480 crore now. The importers include Saudi Arabia, African and European nations, Australia, and Malaysia, among others, he added. Anticipating more demand in future, he said, Earlier, we used to import Lexus biscuits from Malaysia. Now, we produce and export Lexus to Malaysia. They are made by Danish Foods Ltd. If quality is ensured, export would increase even further, he added. The local market is worth about Tk. 5,000 crore at present, he said. The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics reported in its 25006 Economic Census that there were around 246 medium-sized food-processing industries in Bangladesh. These employ 19 per cent of the industrial manufacturing workforce and 8 per cent of the total manufacturing labour force. The food industry employs 2.45 per cent of the countrys total labour force. Its share in the GDP was 2.01 per cent in 2010. According to the Bangladesh Bread, Biscuit, and Confectionery Manufacturers Association (BBBCMA), around 50 to 60 lakh people are directly and indirectly working in this sector. But why is there a sudden growth of this sector? Dip Hasnayin, a bank employee, tried to explain: The consumers lifestyle is changing. People have less time for cooking. So, biscuits are not treated as snacks anymore. It has become an essential commodity in our society. Not an easy bite Manufacturers and industry insiders believe that the competition with international biscuit brands is the biggest challenge local manufacturers have been facing for long. The general manager (sales and marketing) of Olympic Industries Ltd, Quazi Touhiduzzaman, however, pointed out the advantages local brands have over foreign ones. It usually takes three months to import foreign biscuits. And the price is three times higher than that of local biscuits. To protect our local brands, the government has imposed an import tax on foreign biscuits. Therefore, the opportunity is open to produce quality biscuits, and the demand for local biscuits has also risen, Touhiduzzaman added. BABBMA president Shafiqur Rahman Bhuiyan pointed to another challenge: Wheat is the primary ingredient for making biscuits, and 80 per cent of that is imported. So, the quality of biscuits depends on the quality of the imported wheat. He also pointed out, The online VAT system will be implemented soon. It will be the biggest challenge for customers to adapt themselves to the system to be implemented. A BBBCMA official explained: Most of the manufacturers do not have big research labs to experiment with products. So, we need more government support to build more labs. Bhuiyan agreed with him and said labs were needed to ensure food safety standards, too. Innovation is the key Touhiduzzaman, however, said that they had a research cell to develop innovative and unique products to meet consumers taste and preferences. Our technicians always try to come up with innovative designs and ideas to make the product more unique, he added. Bhuiyan said, At this moment, we have the capacity to outsource and make quality biscuits for other countries. If we can develop recipes to suit the tastes of developed countries like Germany and Switzerland, and develop quality products for them, we can earn more foreign currency. Responding to a question, Bhuiyan said the Agro-Food Industry Skill Council had been formed to deal with occupational training, skill development, and food safety. The price advantage An official of Hashem Foods Ltd, requesting anonymity, said the quality of local biscuits had improved greatly over the last 1015 years. Flavours have changed according to consumers choices and demands. Giving an example, he said, We have recently started manufacturing the Black Cream Biscuit, which completely resembles the Cadbury Oreo that we used to import. It cost thrice as much as the local one. Explaining his companys brands, Touhiduzzaman said, We have segmented our brands into two partsbiscuits, and cookies and bakery. We have 33 types of biscuits. The cookies area comprises dry cakes, badaam cookies, and the daily toast. Touhiduzzaman said that, every year, new companies were starting the production of fresh, unique, and quality biscuits to change the taste of local consumers as well as to export their products. Reedisha Food and Beverage Ltd also revealed its plan to manufacture biscuits for the local market, he informed. After 1520 years, this sector will expand and contribute a chunk to our GDP growth and economy, he feels. The Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution monitors every step to ensure the quality of the products. Quality matters The owner of a Rana Food retail store, Abul Kalam Azad, told The Independent that biscuits of various brands were available in their shop. These biscuits are 100 per cent hygienic and come in sealed packets, he said. Touhiduzzaman explained, To ensure hygiene and food safety, 3540 automated factories are engaged in making biscuits. These are entirely made using machines to ensure food safety standards. He also said that Olympic was exporting biscuits to countries such as Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia, and 5 lakh people were directly or indirectly working for the company. Founded in 1979, Olympic Industries Ltd is the largest manufacturer, distributor, and marketer of biscuits in Bangladesh. Bhuiyan said the packaging of branded biscuits has also developed a lot over the last five to 10 years to attract all types of consumers.