Marketing might become yeast for the baking industry

Bakery products are popular in Hungary. Production is fragmented however, which means resources are not sufficient for powerful marketing. According to József Werli, secretary of the Hungarian Association of Bakers, 2007 has been an extraordinary year. The price of flour rose as a result of growing corn prices and the industry has not been able to fully integrate this increase of costs into its prices. Their bargaining position is weak , because the industry is decentralised and their own chain of specialised stores is only in its infancy yet. Half of all bakery products are sold by multinational retail chains, while smaller stores sell a quarter of the total production and specialised bakery stores only have a 13-14 per cent market share. József Werli regards the building of a chain of specialised and convenience stores, introduction of higher quality products and informing consumers as the priorities in order to improve the position of the industry. Wewalka Kft. has the modern production capacity to make high quality products and a very flexible attitude regarding innovation. Mona Hungary has entered the market of bakery products using the Montice brand name and a unique marketing strategy which focuses on breakfast as expressed in their slogan: ”Everything needed on the breakfast table”. According to Bernadett Strasser-Kátai, managing director of Mona Hungary Kft., supply is ahead of demand in the market of fine bakery products, and consumers are often unaware of the advantages of their products. One of the key points in their communication is that Montice bakery products contain no preservatives. Rapid frozen bakery products represent another trend in innovation. One of the major manufacturers of such products is Tatár Bakery. According to a consumer survey they had conducted, consumers would find a price rise of 10 per cent acceptable, whereas they expect a rise of 20 per cent. – This is why we decided to increase our retail prices by an average of 10 per cent as of 01. November – says Ernő Tatár, owner of the bakery. He believes that demand for “non-breakfast” products is growing and they have introduced a number of pizzas in recent months to keep up with demand.