Sri Lankan entrepreneurs Janik Jayasuriya and Johann Harsha Fernando bring together two inspiring entrepreneurial journeys to take a homegrown Sri Lankan brand onto the global stage

In a significant milestone for Sri Lankan entrepreneurship, Celeste Founder and CEO Janik Jayasuriya and HVA Ceylon Founder and CEO Johann Harsha Fernando have entered into a partnership to jointly establish, operate and grow Celeste in the United States.

While the partnership was formally marked during Jayasuriya’s recent visit to the U.S., its roots go back to the Chamber of Lankan Entrepreneurs (COYLE), through which the two founders connected. The idea gained direction during a COYLE business delegation to South Korea, where discussions between Jayasuriya and Fernando developed into a shared vision for taking Celeste to the U.S.

Founded during the global pandemic in 2020, Celeste has grown from a homegrown Sri Lankan startup into the country’s leading on-demand online supermarkets, operating 24/7, serving more than 200,000 customers and completing over three million orders. Its story of resilience and its pivot during the pandemic was featured by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, highlighting Sri Lankan entrepreneurial adaptability during COVID-19. Celeste has also received recognition at the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards, while Jayasuriya went on to receive two Asia Marketing Excellence Awards from the Asia Marketing Federation in 2025.

Fernando’s journey represents an equally inspiring Sri Lankan success story in the United States. Having established HVA Ceylon in the U.S., Fernando has built and scaled the business in one of the world’s most competitive markets, developing strong market knowledge, infrastructure and distribution capabilities. Under his leadership, HVA Ceylon has been named to the prestigious Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies for three consecutive years 2024, 2025 and 2026.

Today, those two entrepreneurial journeys are coming together.

The U.S. venture brings Jayasuriya and Fernando together as partners, jointly working to establish, develop and grow Celeste in the United States. The partnership combines Celeste’s experience in quick commerce, digital retail and brand building with HVA Ceylon’s U.S. market experience, infrastructure and operational expertise.

More than a business partnership, the collaboration brings together two Sri Lankan entrepreneurial stories one that successfully established and scaled a business in America, and another that transformed itself during a global pandemic and is now taking a homegrown Sri Lankan brand global.

The partnership also highlights the role of COYLE in connecting Sri Lankan entrepreneurs, with a relationship formed through its network and strengthened during an international business delegation ultimately developing into a cross-border partnership.

Together, Janik Jayasuriya and Johann Harsha Fernando hope their journey will demonstrate what Sri Lankan entrepreneurs and homegrown businesses can achieve through collaboration, resilience and the ambition to compete on the global stage taking Sri Lanka to the world.

Photo Caption: From left: Janik Jayasuriya, Founder and CEO of Celeste, and Johann Harsha Fernando, Founder and CEO of HVA Ceylon, formalize their partnership to jointly establish and grow Celeste in the United States during Jayasuriya’s recent visit to the U.S.