Dried herbs and spices: high prices

Private label products have been expanding, probably because only a small proportion of spices are grown in Hungary and prices on the world market have been increasing significantly – informs Gábor Heltai, commercial director of Házi Piros Paprika Kft. The company was also forced to increase prices early this year. Unfortunately, retailers did not want to acknowledge the fact that purchase prices elevated. Mr Heltai’s experience is that demand is becoming more diverse as cooking programmes on television influence consumer behaviour. He told that their Házi Arany spice mix brand managed to grow significantly, by 20 percent on a contracting market. The director attributes this success to widening the assortment, renewing the packaging, decreasing the salt content and implementing a strong marketing campaign. Delikát8 is a spice mix with a 40-year tradition, distributed by Unilever. Its anniversary 1.4kg version was received well by consumers. Delikát8’ ‘Cook for a Playground’ promotion continues this year as well; so far 36 EU-standard Delikát playgrounds have been built.