The 200 year old Siddhalepa story is a truly amazing one, and it’s told brilliantly by Mr. Asoka Hettigoda.

https://youtu.be/Bit805qtQP0?si=nbWteywOWAJVmgvn

Siddhalepa’s story starts with a journey to India. Hendrick de Silva Hettigoda came from a family of Ayurveda physicians going back more than 200 years. He travelled to India to learn the trade, then came home and created the balm, which became the first commercial Ayurvedic product approved under British rule.

His son, Victor Hettigoda, learned Ayurveda under him for about 12 years before he was trusted with the formula, and then added what the family had never had: a marketing brain. Victor started the business in 1971 with Rs 2,500 and sold the balm village by village, first by bus and on foot, later from an old Hillman he used to advertise it. His aim was a physician in every Sri Lankan home.

In this episode of the CAL Circle, Asoka Hettigoda, Chairman and Managing Director of the Hettigoda Group, tells both their stories, then talks about how he came into the business himself. Also available on Apple Podcasts.