Ceylon Cold Stores

What Ceylon Cold Stores does

Ceylon Cold Stores PLC (CCS), a publicly listed subsidiary of John Keells Holdings PLC on the Colombo Stock Exchange (ticker: CCS), manufactures and distributes the Elephant House portfolio of carbonated beverages, fruit juices, bottled water, flavored milk, and frozen confectionery. Operating since 1866, the company is one of Sri Lanka's oldest continuously operating corporate institutions, anchored by the iconic Elephant House brand, which has been recognized as Brand of the Year at the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards 2025 and whose Cream Soda variant has held the SLIM-Nielsen Beverage Brand of the Year title for 14 consecutive years since 2006. The business is organized across two main categories — Beverages (Ginger Beer, Cream Soda, Necto, Orange Barley, Fito, Twistee, Elephant House Water) and Ice Cream / Frozen Confectionery (Wonder range impulse products, Indulgence cups and cones, Popsicles, premium IMORICH tubs and cones, Feelgood frozen yogurt, and No Added Sugar variants) — with manufacturing at the Ranala facility and the Avissawella BOI Zone facility that houses an advanced extrusion technology line enabling premium formats such as layered cakes, logs, and frozen sandwiches.

CCS operates four manufacturing facilities (Ranala and Avissawella domestically, plus the newly launched Melbourne plant in December 2025), distributes across Sri Lanka through a direct field sales force supported by territory managers and retail store networks, and reaches 25+ countries internationally through franchise partners and export distributors. The company holds a full stack of quality and food safety certifications (ISO 9001:2015, ISO 22000:2018, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001:2018, plus multiple SLS product standards) and is certified under the Sri Lanka National Quality Award (2003 and 2023). Recent strategic moves include the Australia franchise launch with Millennium Imports Pty Ltd, a distribution partnership with India's Reliance Consumer Products to introduce Campa Beverages in Sri Lanka, and an R&D MoU with the University of Peradeniya. Revenue mechanics are B2C mass-market packaged goods sold one-time through retail and export channels, with no disclosed pricing model. CCS is the largest domestic beverage player and a market leader in Sri Lanka and the Maldives for ice cream, with export markets spanning Europe, North America, the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania.

Name

Ceylon Cold Stores

Legal name

Ceylon Cold Stores PLC

Website

https://elephanthouse.lk

Company type

Public

Founded year

1866

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, a John Keells Holdings subsidiary, manufactures and distributes the Elephant House portfolio of carbonated beverages, juices, bottled water, and ice cream to Sri Lankan mass-market consumers and export markets across 25+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Frozen Confectionery and Beverages

NAICS

Ice Cream and Frozen Dessert Manufacturing (311520), Soft Drink Manufacturing (312111)

SIC

Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts (2024), Bottled & Canned Soft Drinks & Carbonated Waters (2086)

akta.pro primary industry

Non-Carbonated Soft Drinks (Juice Drinks, Lemonades, Fruit Drinks) (CRADAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Soft Drink & Carbonated Beverage Syrups (AFAFAGAA)

Keywords

• Carbonated soft drinks
• Frozen confectionery
• Fruit juice beverages
• Bottled drinking water
• Ice cream manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Colombo

HQ country

Sri Lanka

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Ice Cream and Frozen Confectionery: Manufacture and sale of Elephant House branded ice creams, popsicles, lollies, and frozen treats across multiple product lines including Wonder, IMORICH premium, and everyday flavors.
2. Beverages - Carbonated Soft Drinks: Production and distribution of carbonated beverages including Ginger Beer (EGB), Cream Soda, Necto, Orange Barley, Lemonade, Kik Cola, Soda, and Tonic.
3. Fruit Juices and Water: Natural fruit juice products (Fito, Twistee) packed in Tetra Pack and bottled water sourced from Hatton at 4400 feet elevation.
4. Export Revenue: Exports of beverages and frozen confectionery to 16+ countries worldwide including UK, Europe, Australia, Middle East, and North America.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ceylon Cold Stores PLC manufactures and sells the Elephant House portfolio of carbonated soft drinks (Ginger Beer, Cream Soda, Necto, Orange Barley, Lemonade, Kik Cola, Soda, Tonic), natural fruit juices (Fito, Twistee), bottled water, and flavoured milk, alongside a comprehensive ice cream and frozen confectionery range spanning mass-market Wonder products, Indulgence cups/cones, Popsicles, Celebrations, premium IMORICH tubs and cones, Feelgood frozen yoghurt, and No Added Sugar variants. Products are produced at the Ranala and Avissawella manufacturing facilities and distributed domestically and to 16+ export markets under the Elephant House brand.

Product overview

Ceylon Cold Stores PLC (CCS), a subsidiary of John Keells Holdings PLC established in 1866, operates as Sri Lanka's leading manufacturer and exporter of the Elephant House brand portfolio. The product portfolio consists of two main categories: (1) Beverages including carbonated soft drinks (Elephant House Ginger Beer, Cream Soda, Necto, Orange Crush, Orange Barley, Lemonade, Kik Cola, Soda, Tonic), natural fruit juices (Fito, Twistee), flavoured milk, and bottled water; and (2) Frozen Confectionery/Ice Cream including the Wonder Range (impulse products), Indulgence cups and cones, Popsicles, Celebrations Everyday Flavors, premium IMORICH range, Feelgood Frozen Yoghurt, No Added Sugar options, and Icies. The company operates manufacturing facilities in Ranala and Avissawella, with recent expansion into international production through a Melbourne facility.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Elephant House Beverages: Carbonated soft drinks, fruit juices, and bottled water including Ginger Beer, Cream Soda, Necto, Orange Barley, Fito, Twistee, and Elephant House Water
• Elephant House Ice Cream
• Elephant House Wonder
• IMORICH

Products and services

• Elephant House Soft Drinks

Quantifiable outcome

• Elephant House Cream Soda won Beverage Brand of the Year for 14 consecutive years since 2006
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Millennium Imports Pty LtdflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 4 December 2025Franchise partnership for Elephant House Ice Cream manufacturing and distribution in Australia. This marks CCS's first international production facility, with local manufacturing in Melbourne. The partnership aims to expand Elephant House brand presence beyond Sri Lankan communities to mainstream Australian consumers.
• Reliance Consumer Products (RCPL)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 11 August 2025RCPL launched Campa Beverages brand in Sri Lanka supported by Ceylon Cold Stores distribution network. This marks RCPL's first overseas expansion for Campa Cola brand, acquired in 2022, with partnership aiming for growth in Sri Lankan market.
• University of PeradeniyacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 June 2025MoU signed between JKH Consumer Foods Sector (CCS and KFP) and Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya to strengthen R&D capabilities through collaborative industry-academia research. Enables undergraduate and postgraduate student participation in industry-aligned research with access to academic expertise and laboratory facilities.
• John Keells Holdings PLCflagshipOthersJohn Keells Holdings PLC is the parent company of Ceylon Cold Stores PLC. CCS operates within John Keells Consumer Foods Sector alongside Keells Food Products PLC and Colombo Ice Company. CCS benefits from group corporate governance, shared services, and brand portfolio synergies.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• The Coca-Cola Company: Global leader in carbonated soft drinks with brand portfolios (Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta) that directly benchmark against CCS's Ginger Beer, Cream Soda, Necto and Kik Cola lineup in both Sri Lanka and export markets.
• Keurig Dr Pepper: North American CSD and beverage conglomerate (Dr Pepper, Snapple, Canada Dry, Keurig brewing); comparable publicly listed branded beverage portfolio and multi-channel retail distribution model.
• PepsiCo: Through Pepsi, 7UP, Mountain Dew and Tropicana, PepsiCo is a global beverage and snacks incumbent with overlapping product categories and a similar brand-led approach to emerging-market soft drinks.

Direct peers

• Britvic: UK-listed specialty soft drinks manufacturer focused on branded CSDs and juices (Pepsi licensed brands, Robinsons, J2O); closest pure-play analogue to CCS's branded CSD and juice manufacturing strategy.
• Cott Corporation: Pure-play CSD and beverage contract manufacturer supplying retailer private-label and branded drinks; closest pure-play analogue to CCS's branded CSD manufacturing and packaging operation, including water and juices.
• Unilever: Owns leading global ice cream brands (Walls, Magnum, Ben & Jerry's, Cornetto) alongside beverages and personal care; directly comparable to CCS in branded ice cream scale, emerging-market presence and portfolio breadth.
• Nestlé: Global leader in ice cream, bottled water, coffee and other beverages; operates the same multi-category branded consumer foods model as CCS through premium and mass-market brands and has the most directly comparable business mix.
• Nestlé Lanka: Direct domestic competitor in Sri Lanka operating across dairy, beverages and confectionery using a sister-company brand portfolio; competes head-to-head with Elephant House across both beverages and ice cream in the same retail channels.

Regional players

• Britannia Industries: Listed Indian food and confectionery brand (biscuits, dairy, bread) with comparable emerging-market consumer-brand FMCG profile, multi-decade brand equity and growing distribution depth across South Asian markets.
• Hindustan Unilever: India's largest FMCG company with ice cream (Kwality Wall's), beverages and packaged foods; comparable South Asian consumer-brand scale, distribution intensity and multi-category portfolio model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ElephantHouseIceCream
• Instagraminstagram.com/elephanthouselk

Compliance10 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ceylon Cold Stores