Sri Lankan entrepreneur takes homegrown brand global starting with Singapore

Singapore-headquartered Jungle Kitchen a fast-growing tropical grocer that specializes in sourcing, preparing, and supplying the finest vegan ingredients from across South and Southeast Asia are looking to supply jackfruit seeds, jambu, breadfruit, sambols and sauces from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Malaysia to their portfolio.

This will give additional income to the local cottage industry that grows and makes these veggie delicacies.

As a female-founded and led business, the brand was recognized as an advocate for the 2024 Summit for Action on Gender Equality by the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations.  The brand’s efforts were acknowledged by President of Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam. While Jungle Kitchen is flourishing in Singapore, it is anchored on Sri Lankan soil. Co-founder Mukeeta Manukulasuriya is also the CEO of Curry Mate Lanka, a Piliyandala-based brand that has been supplying ready-to-eat meals, sambals and sauces to the Sri Lankan market since 1984.

Founded by Suranganie Gunasinghe, Curry Mate was one of the very first ready-to-eat food businesses in Sri Lanka. Suranganie, who was a teacher of Botany, used her knowledge of food technology to create sauces and pastes that allowed women to prepare meals quickly while balancing work and home life. Her daughter Amalini Manukulasuriya would carry on that legacy and Mukeeta Manukulasuriya, the third generation of female leadership from the family, is now working to bring Curry Mate’s experience and commitment to the world.

Jungle Kitchen and Curry Mate now share the Piliyandala facility, with development work for most Jungle Kitchen products taking place in Sri Lanka. The all-female local team works with recipes and ingredients from all over the world.

 “We’re bringing our experience, my grandmother’s legacy, and my mother’s commitment to creating delicious and convenient food to the world through Jungle Kitchen,” said Mukeeta.

Surekha Yadav, the brand’s Singaporean co-founder, said, “We want to make it clear that tropical ingredients are delicious and can be as much of a luxury as anything from the West,” said Surekha Yadav, Singaporean partner at Jungle Kitchen.

 Jungle Kitchen products are available in supermarkets in Singapore and on Amazon in the USA, with plans to enter the Middle Eastern and European markets next year.