Sunday, 20 December, marked the soft launch of the brand new exclusive organic food venture “Mango Friends”, co-founded by Dushyanth Weeraman. Mango Friends is an initiative providing organic fruits to their customers, working predominantly with organically produced mangoes.
Available as Sri Lanka's premier online shop for your organic fruit needs, it now has a physical outlet in addition to their cosy Kotte Road venue; they have now collaborated with Home Bargains and are available at its Mohideen Terrace location.
We spoke to Co-Founder of the venture Dushyanth, who shared his thoughts on initiating an agriculture-dominant 
project during a pandemic. Speaking about Mango Friends and how it came about, he said that as a Sri Lankan, he has always felt we have something very unique in our food, especially our Lankan fruits.
However, he said that when it comes to mangoes, despite them being tropical fruits, the mangoes that one would often come across and eat every day in Sri Lanka are not necessarily the best or organic. In his search for good mangoes is how he met his collaborators.
“I found my partners at Mango Friends when they were running a mango shop where they concentrate very much on selling organic mangoes. This really intrigued my interest because they are doing a business with so much purity and selling a product in its pure form,” said Dushyanth, adding that he felt a sense of responsibility to promote this venture.
“I felt as a Sri Lankan that this is what we need to nurture in a country where there is so much corruption and backstabbing. If there is someone trying to do some good, we need to cultivate it and help take it out to the world.”
Dushyanth further explained what Mango Friends offers its patrons, sharing that they offer a particular mango named “TJC mango” which grows in the dry zones of the island, mainly available in the Anuradhapura, Kekirawa, and Monaragala areas. He said – and we too can confirm – that it is a very tasty mango often mistaken for the Alfonso mango made in India. The TJC mango is miles better than its Indian counterpart and was created by Sri Lankan Tom Ellawala and Filipino Dr. Juan Carlos.
He shared that during the pandemic, he has found that agriculture is a good place to be, adding that as a Buddhist, he believes in the Buddhist saying “arōgyā paramā lābhā santuṭṭhiparamaṃ dhanaṃ”, which simply means that health is the best profit you can have and happiness is the greatest wealth in life. He said he finds that food gives you happiness, and good and healthy living is the best way to go forward, adding that there has never been a better time to consider going organic.
We also spoke very briefly about how the pandemic has been treating Dushyanth, to which he responded saying: “Honestly, the pandemic has been good to me.” He also shared that it has given him a lot of “me time”, a lot of time to think as well as to spend with his family, his parents, and his friends. He said this is a time where we can look at life in a different way – to come to terms with the fact that we have been living in a competitive world chasing success; this is a time for self-realisation, and the new venture “Mango Friends” is something he believes to be something that echoes that ethos.
project during a pandemic. Speaking about Mango Friends and how it came about, he said that as a Sri Lankan, he has always felt we have something very unique in our food, especially our Lankan fruits.
However, he said that when it comes to mangoes, despite them being tropical fruits, the mangoes that one would often come across and eat every day in Sri Lanka are not necessarily the best or organic. In his search for good mangoes is how he met his collaborators.
“I found my partners at Mango Friends when they were running a mango shop where they concentrate very much on selling organic mangoes. This really intrigued my interest because they are doing a business with so much purity and selling a product in its pure form,” said Dushyanth, adding that he felt a sense of responsibility to promote this venture.
“I felt as a Sri Lankan that this is what we need to nurture in a country where there is so much corruption and backstabbing. If there is someone trying to do some good, we need to cultivate it and help take it out to the world.”
Dushyanth further explained what Mango Friends offers its patrons, sharing that they offer a particular mango named “TJC mango” which grows in the dry zones of the island, mainly available in the Anuradhapura, Kekirawa, and Monaragala areas. He said – and we too can confirm – that it is a very tasty mango often mistaken for the Alfonso mango made in India. The TJC mango is miles better than its Indian counterpart and was created by Sri Lankan Tom Ellawala and Filipino Dr. Juan Carlos.
He shared that during the pandemic, he has found that agriculture is a good place to be, adding that as a Buddhist, he believes in the Buddhist saying “arōgyā paramā lābhā santuṭṭhiparamaṃ dhanaṃ”, which simply means that health is the best profit you can have and happiness is the greatest wealth in life. He said he finds that food gives you happiness, and good and healthy living is the best way to go forward, adding that there has never been a better time to consider going organic.
We also spoke very briefly about how the pandemic has been treating Dushyanth, to which he responded saying: “Honestly, the pandemic has been good to me.” He also shared that it has given him a lot of “me time”, a lot of time to think as well as to spend with his family, his parents, and his friends. He said this is a time where we can look at life in a different way – to come to terms with the fact that we have been living in a competitive world chasing success; this is a time for self-realisation, and the new venture “Mango Friends” is something he believes to be something that echoes that ethos.