Price reigns among patés and spreads

Economic hardships started a restructuring process on the meat product market – to the detriment of patés and spreads. One of the reasons for this was a 6.1-percent increase in the average price from 2010 to 2011 – Pick Szeged product manager Zoltán Szántó quoted Nielsen data.

He added that more and more consumers who are loyal to premium quality and brands can only purchase them in promotion. The cheapest products continue to reign in the category. Mr Szántó told that with their 46-percent market share PL products still dominate the market. Éva Tamáskovitsné Gila, marketing manager with Gyulai Húskombinát Zrt. told our magazine that demand for Gyulai Liver Paté somewhat dropped between 2008 and 2010, before growing again last year. Last year brought an extra 1,300 tons in liver paté sales with total sales amounting to 3,100 tons. In the last couple of years consumer demand for smaller packaging units increased. According to Anett Zuberecz, marketing manager with Szegedi Paprika Zrt. these days the canned meat category features many specially flavoured products. Ágnes Gáspár, Hamé Hungária Kft.’s marketing manager is of the opinion that economic recession did not do harm to paté consumption – on the contrary, and consumers want quality for their forints. Products in aluseal packaging are increasingly popular as they are easy to handle and because of the heat treatment technology they are tastier than canned products. Gyulai Liver Paté was the product that established the category back in the early 1980s and it is still the market leader. Recently the company put two new products on the market: 125g Gyulai Liver Paté with added vitamin for children and the elderly, who eat less fruits and vegetables; 120g Gyulai Sausage-seasoned Liver Paté that combines the advantages of Gyulai Liver Paté and Gyulai Sausage and was welcomed positively. All of the company’s liver products are gluten- and lactose-free. Promotion activity: the Gyula Liver Paté Festival – organised in cooperation with the town and local businesses – is a series of culinary programmes in Gyula Castle that attracts thousands of people every year. One of PICK Szeged Zrt.’s most popular and best-selling premium products is PICK Calf Liver Paté in wax casing. The wax casing gives an aesthetic look and guarantees easy handling. Last September a chives version of the product also appeared in stores. Further representatives of the premium segment are PICK liver patés in cups – in fried onion and plain version. Last autumn saw the arrival of a new product in the medium-priced category: liver paté in artificial casing that contains 24 percent pork liver and has a shelf life of 45 days; it costs HUF 999/kg and is sold from the deli counter. PICK supports sales with promotion campaigns primarily in February and September. Szegedi Paprika Zrt.’s most popular products include classic pork liver patés, which are now also distributed in family-size version. Modern aluseal and plastic packaging only started to conquer the Hungarian market a few years ago, but they have definitely made products more attractive and easier to use. The company’s Snack product line is available in many versions: Goose Liver with White Wine/Cognac, Goose Liver/Duck Liver Hungarian Style. UZSI products are made exclusively from natural ingredients and contain added vegetable fibres. Hamé Hungária produces the highest volume sales with 105g aluseal Hamé Goose Liver Gourmet Paté, Duck Liver Gourmet Paté, Liver Paté and Betyár Gourmet Gourmet Paté. The company’s premium brand is Globus: this line now features seven products and recently several cooled Globus novelties entered the market, e.g. 150g Dutch Gourmet Liver Paté with Cheese and Gourmet Liver Paté with Almond in plastic cup; 160g Májka, Disznótoros Paté, Paté with Goose Liver and Master Butcher’s Specialty in glass cups. Cooled patés are processed under 100°C, so they can keep their excellent taste and aroma.