Magazine: When you need a bit of energy

Tamás Czepanecz
brand manager
Nestlé Hungária

Sales developed well in the cereal product market last year, but the different segments contributed differently to this good performance. Tamás Czepanecz, brand manager of Nestlé Hungária Kft. told: value sales of breakfast cereals increased, but in terms of volume sales decreased a little if compared with 2017. Muesli sales improved both value- and volume-wise, just like classic cereal and muesli bar sales. Energy and fruit bar sales produced record level growth. Oat products have remained very popular among bars.

What about retail channels? Well, the conquest of discount supermarkets continued last year.

Balázs Mészáros
sales and marketing manager
Cerbona

Balázs Mészáros, sales and marketing manager of Cerbona Zrt. talked to our magazine about sales slowing down in the hypermarket channel. The drugstore channel is also important for the company, because they lead the way in offering functional foods. There are many new innovations in the cereal product market.

Róbert Vida
managing director
Úsovsko Hungary

Róbert Vida, managing director of Úsovsko Hungary Kft. told Trade magazin that they seek to put innovations on the market that fall in line with the daily dietary habits of shoppers. The company makes it a priority to market products which are free from sweeteners. This year they will launch a product that contains neither added sugar nor sweetener.Rita Habuda-Salyámosy, marketing manager of Glatz Hungary predicts a breakthrough for cereal bars. These products of the company are gluten-free too. The ‘star’ flavours in the market are cocoa and chocolate, but new flavours also keep appearing. For instance Emco muesli can be bought in strawberry-almond version too.

Mr Czepanecz revealed that porridge is one of the most innovative categories at the moment. Besides traditional porridge products, various ‘super-porridges’ and their low-sugar versions are appearing on store shelves.

Dénes Kiss
marketing manager
Dr. Oetker Magyarország

Dénes Kiss, marketing manager of Dr. Oetker Magyarország Élelmiszer Kft. explained to us that super-porridges are fortified with vitamins and minerals, and often they contain less sugar than usual. In the cereal product category Dr. Oetker concentrates on market leader Vitalis porridges. They can be prepared simply and they are available in many flavours – these reasons have definitely contributed to their success. Since they can be eaten hot, they give people extra energy at the beginning of the day. New Vitalis porridges will hit the shops this year.

Nestlé products aim at satisfying the following consumer needs: convenience, natural composition and health consciousness. The company does innovation work with these factors in mind. New product launches in 2019 will also have these characteristics. Brand messages are most frequently communicated via television commercials, but the online platform is becoming more important.

In 2018 Cerbona Élelmiszergyártó Kft. managed to increase cereal product value sales by nearly 8 percent. Oat bar and gluten-free bar sales surged and the Sport product range also performed above the expectations. Among Sport products we can find muesli bar and porridge fortified with protein, and even protein bars that target professional athletes. The company also developed new gluten-free products and launched two new porridge flavours that are made without added sugar. Mr Mészáros told: it is a great opportunity for them to have a new crunchy muesli production line. In marketing they work hard to reach young consumers with Cerbona’s messages, e.g.they were among the first to advertise on Spotify and last year they also used influencers.

Úsovsko Hungary Kft.’s Fit Breakfast Porridge has been a success story ever since its launch. Last year brought the debut of the Fit Breakfast Rice Porridge, which was also welcomed by consumers. These products contain innovative ingredients such as CHIA seeds, GOJI berries and Inulin, their sugar content has been reduced by 30 percent, plus the Rice Porridge is gluten-free as well. No wonder that consumers voted Fit Oat and Rice Porridge to be ‘PRODUCT OF THE YEAR’ this year. Future plans include launching new oat and granola products. In the near future Fit Crunchy muesli hearts will make their debut too. The company believes: the best marketing tool is if their products can be found in every shop.

Rita Habuda-Salyámosy
marketing manager
Glatz Hungary

Sales of Glatz Hungary’s Emco muesli products increased considerably last year, mainly due to the good performance of gluten-free mueslis, traditional and chocolate products, and various bars. The company’s nut and protein bars are gluten-free too, and they also make gluten-free mueslis. Emco Crispy & Light mueslis have been put on the market recently. These are crunchy and made from several types of cereals. There is no added sugar in the nut version, and the ‘super fruit’ and the blueberry & goji berry variant only contains little sugar. Emco muesli products are promoted online and with tasting sessions. //