Vista Essential Foods (Pvt) Ltd., an emerging player in Sri Lanka’s spice manufacturing and essential foods sector, has officially launched its flagship range of spices at an event held recently at the Hilton Colombo.
The launch marked an important milestone for the company, introducing its brand and inaugural product portfolio to consumers, media representatives, business partners, and key industry stakeholders. Built around the goal of enriching everyday Sri Lankan cooking with authentic local flavours, Vista Essential Foods aims to bring quality and consistency to kitchens across the country.
The company enters the market with a clear commitment to elevating everyday meals through uncompromising quality, stringent food safety standards, and continuous culinary innovation. As part of this commitment, Vista Essential Foods has introduced an initial range of essential kitchen staples designed to meet the everyday cooking needs of Sri Lankan households.
The product portfolio includes Chilli Powder, Chilli Flakes, Curry Powder, Roasted Curry Powder, Roasted Chilli Powder, Turmeric Powder, and Black Pepper Powder, each carefully developed with everyday cooking in mind.
Driven by its mission to “bring the true, authentic taste of Sri Lanka to every kitchen,” Vista Essential Foods operates under the brand slogan, “A Heartfelt Taste of Memories”. By sourcing carefully selected, high-quality raw materials, the company seeks to preserve the rich and traditional flavours that generations of Sri Lankan consumers have come to know and love.
Speaking at the launch, Vista Essential Foods Chairman Quintus Perera said: “We established Vista Essential Foods to provide Sri Lankan consumers with superior spices and daily food essentials, grounding our entire operation on an unshakeable foundation of quality, safety, and innovation.”
Echoing this commitment, Vista Essential Foods Managing Director Suhanya Perera Ockersz said: “Every product in our line-up is crafted from carefully selected raw materials tailored specifically for daily cooking. By adhering to a strict policy of no artificial flavours, colours, or preservatives, we honour our promise to deliver pure, authentic Sri Lankan taste to every home.”
Rithihi presents fourth Textile Tales edition featuring Indian fashion brand Aavaran
When a traditional craft disappears, it takes with it centuries of knowledge, creativity and cultural heritage painstakingly built by generations. The impact extends far beyond the loss of a particular style or product. Entire social and economic ecosystems can be disrupted, affecting artisans, farmers, spinners, carders, dyers, weavers and toolmakers whose livelihoods and relationships are often built on human connections as much as commercial transactions. The question, therefore, is not only how to prevent these crafts from disappearing, but also how to revive those that are already lost or on the brink of extinction while restoring the ecosystems that sustain them.
These questions were explored during a recent knowledge-sharing session hosted by Rithihi in Colombo, which offered valuable insight into the complex and painstaking process of craft revival. The event marked the fourth edition of Rithihi’s Textile Tales knowledge-sharing series. The programme brought Rajasthan-based revivalist designer Alka Sharma to Colombo and featured a documentary screening exploring indigo dye-making communities, creating a space to examine what it truly takes to revive a craft and ensure its continued relevance.
Addressing the gathering at Rithihi, Alka Sharma highlighted the importance of balancing preservation with innovation. She noted that without evolution, traditional crafts can gradually lose their relevance in a changing world. At the same time, innovation without a deep understanding of a craft can erode the very knowledge and identity that make it unique.
According to Sharma, the designer’s role is not simply to introduce new ideas, but to listen, understand and create the conditions in which inherited knowledge can continue to find meaning in contemporary life. A trunk show by Aavaran, the Rajasthani brand founded by Sharma, was also held at Rithihi, demonstrating the tangible outcomes of a close and sustained creative relationship between designers and artisans.
The screening of Swati Dandekar’s documentary Neel Raag further highlighted how traditional crafts function as living ecosystems rather than isolated techniques. The film explored the deep-rooted communities surrounding indigo and the remarkable relationship people develop with the colour, which stains and seeps into the skin, nails and everyday lives of those who work with it.
From dyers and woodblock makers to designers and artisans, these interconnected networks play a crucial role in keeping traditional knowledge alive. The revival of a craft, therefore, is not simply about preserving a technique or creating a new product. It requires rebuilding the relationships, skills, livelihoods and communities that allow the craft to evolve while remaining rooted in its heritage.
Vista Essential Foods introduces the authentic taste of Sri Lankan spices to the local market
