The crossed grain has become a symbol of quality

Roland Kanyó
marketing and PR manager
dm

People suffering from gluten intolerance don’t have to quit eating tasty food any more, as there are many ingredients and special products available to them. According to Roland Kanyó, marketing and PR manager of dm Kft., they offer a large selection of gluten-free products to customers: breads, flours, milk drinks, oatmeals, snacks, desserts, etc. Private label dmBio products are very popular – there are already more than 440 of them.

Krisztina Bódi
marketing director
Kométa ’99

Kométa products contain no added gluten, so they can be consumed by people sensitive to gluten. Kométa ’99 Zrt.’s marketing director Krisztina Bódi revealed that sales of their products keep growing and their presence in the market gets stronger year after year.

Tamás Mészáros
managing director
Cerbona Élelmiszergyártó

Tamás Mészáros, managing director of Cerbona Élelmiszergyártó Kft. told our magazine that sales of their gluten-free products increased the fastest. By 2017 their gluten-free muesli bars ended up in the company’s top 5 products, in terms of both volume and value sales. Retailers say that more and more shoppers who aren’t gluten intolerant are also buying these special Cerbona products. Tadej Ornik, export key account manager of CEE & CIS revealed to us that the company’s sales were up in Hungary in the last few years. They are present in the shops of every Hungarian retail chain. The company specialises in baked goods, basic and premium sliced breads, bread rolls, Italian Ciabatta breads and Bon Matin sweet buns.

Besides traditional baked goods and toast breads, Ceres Zrt. also manufactures various gluten-free foods. Technology specialist Katalin Hári told Trade magazin that the gluten-free market is expanding by nearly 10 percent a year, and sales of the company’s products grow by 5-6 percent per annum. Ceres Zrt. is very proud of their Gluta Free Gluten-free Hamburger Buns, Gluten-free Toast Slices and Gluten-free Multiseed Toast Slices.

Gábor Vaszkó
managing director
Civita Food

Gábor Vaszkó, managing director of Civita Food Kft. is of the opinion that the market of gluten-free products is developing dynamically: more people are sensitive to gluten than before and those who follow a healthy or special diet also like these foods. For instance 10 years ago only 1-2 percent of the population were eating these products, today this proportion is 8-10 percent. It is noteworthy that being gluten-free is less and less enough from a product: shoppers want them to be GMO- and additive-free too, and to have high fibre and protein content as well.

Imre Forgács
sales director
Abonett

Abonett Kft. started manufacturing Abonett extruded crackerbreads in 1986. Sales director Imre Forgács told our magazine that they started manufacturing Gluten-free Corn Extruded Crackerbread in 1987 and Gluten-free Extruded Bread in 1989. The company believes that demand is on the rise for these special products nowadays. Still, the proportion of Hungarian-made gluten-free products is very low. About 45 percent of Abonett’s sales is realised by gluten-free products.

Dávid Bakos
owner
DBAV International Group

Dávid Bakos, the owner of DBAV International Group Kft. called our attention to the growing importance of product origin and ingredients for consumers. The emblematic crossed grain, the international symbol of gluten-free products, says to consumers that the given product is ‘better’ and ‘healthier’. Because of this shoppers are willing to pay more for these foods. According to statistical data from Euromonitor, sales of ‘free-from’ products represented a EUR 1.3 billion value in 2012, which grew to EUR 2.9 billion by 2017. Mr Bakos added that today gluten-free products aren’t only available in small specialist shops any more, but also in hyper- and supermarkets. The company’s foods have been available in Hungary since early 2018.

In 2014 Abonett Kft. came out with Abonett bread made with millet. It is the company’s goal to make gluten-free products with high fibre content, no artificial additives and preservatives, and low calorie and salt content. Abonett Kft. plans to add new products to its gluten-free portfolio. In 2017 the company built a production plant where only gluten-free foods will be developed and manufactured. DBAV International Group Kft. markets the premium quality products of Swiss company Chiefs AG. They have lactose- and gluten-free protein drinks in the portfolio, together with protein cream puddings, protein isolates and 100-percent natural, vegan and soy-free protein sticks.More new, innovative products made by Chiefs AG will appear in Hungarian shops in the second half of the year.

CIVITA’s high-fibre corn pasta won a star at the prestigious Great Taste Award in 2017. The product appeared on store shelves in early 2018. It is important to tell that the high fibre content – 3 times more fibre than the average – isn’t the result of adding fibre to the product. CIVITA pastas are made from high-fibre flour and water only, using special technology. The company plans to introduce more gluten-free healthy products to the market. Cerbona’s chocolate and sour cherry flavoured gluten-free muesli bar won the Gluten-free Product of the Year prize of the Hungarian Coeliac Society, while at the SIAL trade fair Cerbona gluten-free muesli in a plastic cup was named one of the most innovative foods in the world. In 2017 Cerbona built a production hall where exclusively gluten-free bars are made. Thanks to this step, they launched two new gluten- and lactose-free bars and two new flavours in the gluten-free muesli range this year.

Kométa ’99 Zrt.’s experience is that when it comes to buying meat products, consumers like traditional products. Still, demand is increasing for free-from and high meat content products. This year new innovations will be launched in several categories. The Gold product range is already being introduced. This range consists of traditional products in top quality: Gold Smoke Flavoured Olasz cold cuts and Gold Smoke Flavoured Bologna made from pork and beef are free from artificial colouring. New products in the dm portfolio now include exclusive new brands such German organic and gluten-free Schnitzer products. The drugstore chain keeps adding new products to the selection of gluten-free foods. dmBio products are made exclusively from ingredients sourced from ecological farming. dm also pays attention to manufacture and package products with the smallest ecological footprint possible.

CEE & CIS covers all segments, but their main focus is baked goods. This year they are launching three new breads: white bread Pan Blanco, white bread with seeds Pan Multigrano, and wholemeal/brown bread Pan Rustico. Pan Blanco and Pan Rustico are now made from new recipes, and the company has already received lots of positive feedback on their high quality from consumers at tasting sessions. //