New shades of black

In a different role

Enikő Boglárka Tóth, commercial leader of Nestlé Professional: “The negative changes of 2022 had an impact on the coffee category too. Premiumisation has remained strong in out-of-home consumption, as consumers like to reward themselves with a nice cup of coffee on busy working days.”

Balázs Szabó, HoReCa manager of Mocca Negra: “In volume Hungarian coffee consumption grew a little or stagnated in 2022, but in value sales soared. Whole bean and capsule sales continued to develop nicely. Right now the market situation doesn’t favour more expensive fair trade products.”

Adaptation

Judit Tóthy, managing director of Brando Central:

“2022 turned out to be an extreme year, with hectic price movements for 8 months, most of the times prices were rising. Green coffee beans coming from certain growing regions became 250% more expensive, while the price increase was “only” 40% for coffee beans from other growing areas.”

Tibor Németh, owner of Mokador Kft.: “Shoppers got used to prices rising in basically every product category, especially if the process was gradual, so demand for coffee was rather steady last year. In HoReCa guests don’t like to give up drinking a quality brew, so they are willing to pay a higher price.”

Andrea Boda, commercial director of Caffe Perte:

“After 2 years of Covid, life is slowly getting back to normal in the coffee market, but many smaller companies didn’t survive the crisis. A restructuring process has commenced in HoReCa, a kind of “natural selection” took place.”

Zsófia Somlai, brand manager of G.I.F.T. Kft.: “Besides climbing coffee prices, coffee processing firms also have to cope with supply problems. Our company had no other choice but to give the representation of the Caffé Vergnano brand to Coca-Cola HBC Magyarország Kft., so in 2022 we decided to start distributing Caffè Diemme whole bean and ground coffee products, which are made by a Padova-based family business.”

The near future

Márton Vajda is of the opinion that just like in the past, the engine of growth will be more expensive capsule and whole bean coffees in the retail channel. Coca-Cola HBC Magyarország was the first to sell coffee in compostable capsules from 100% sustainable sources, and Mr Vajda believes that this segment will also develop nicely. Another emerging trend is the expansion of capsule multipacks.

Enikő Boglárka Tóth doesn’t expect a drop in coffee consumption, but she thinks that consumers will become even more conscious and price-sensitive this year. Her view is that fast and reliable machinery will be very important in out-of-home consumption, especially those machines that need little human labour, as the sector is struggling with serious workforce problems.

Balázs Szabó predicts a difficult year for the Hungarian coffee market in 2023. He reckons that the lower and the medium segments will strengthen, and there is a possibility that many of those consumers who are drinking top premium coffees will switch to mainstream products. Mocca Negra puts lots of work into solving the problem of composting used coffee capsules.

Synergies and connections

Judit Tóthy reported to our magazine that they added new products to Brando Central’s flavoured coffee selection. They offer a solution for every coffee maker type, and the company’ specialty portfolio is also growing. In 2022 production started in a certified organic facility.

Tibor Németh is optimistic about 2023, and Mokador Kft. calculates with sales growth in retail too, as there are no huge price differences between higher and lower quality coffees. In HoReCa the market will become more concentrated, because smaller places won’t be able to pay their overhead costs.

Andrea Boda doesn’t think that people will drink less coffee, but she says the place and the way of consumption are definitely changing. Capsule coffee is comfortable but expensive, and it isn’t very good for the environment even if capsules are recycled.

Zsófia Somlai told that quality coffee is an affordable luxury for many people. What G.I.F.T. Kft. adds to this is machinery, service and maintenance, sales reps with great experience in the coffee category, and nationwide coverage. //