Home court advantage

Traditional flavours hold on to their leading position among canned products and jams. However, globalisation brought new trends as well. Nielsen’s data suggest that in the second half of the year the negative effects of the economic crisis could be felt among canned products – with private labels increasing their share. Anett Zuberecz, Szegedi Paprika Zrt.’s marketing manager pointed out that relatively cheap canned products (and jams) fitted in well with the products offered by discount stores. According to Péter Ungvári, Pacific Óceán Kft.’s managing director those multinational companies which import their private label products now think of finding Hungarian producers, to keep their profit margin. Anett Zuberecz told that Hungarian cuisine still dominates among their canned products: bean goulash, pork stew, tripe stew, stuffed cabbage constitute the bulk of Szegedi Paprika’s assortment. At the same time, the company also tries to satisfy those customers who like world cuisine. One of their main directions in innovation is healthy products, e.g. those which lack allergens. Most of their products are free of preservatives – they use heat treatment instead. Another direction in innovation is easy-to-handle packaging, e.g. aluseal plastic boxes. Szegedi Paprika will be the first to introduce reclosable packaging. To improve sales they will increase their presence in printed media; tasting sessions in shops will also be used. Péter Ungvári told that significant changes had taken place on the jam market: apricot and mixed flavours are still favoured, but blueberry kept increasing in popularity. Discount chains expand their jam assortment with Hungarian flavours, while other multinationals focus on international flavours. Pacific Óceán places great emphasis on domestic flavours, but the company does not forget that a certain layer of consumers follows world trends. As for innovations, they focus on a healthy product composition, e.g. lower carbohydrate content, higher fruit content, no artificial colourings or preservatives. They have several brands which they try to differentiate from others; they are present at exhibitions, organise tasting sessions or communicate through their website.