Magazine: Let’s drink a bit of fruit

In 2018 the fruit juice market produced a record-breaking, more than 10-percent value sales growth.

Adrienn Papp-Zelena
trade marketing
coordinator
Sió-Eckes

Adrienn Papp-Zelena, Sió-Eckes Kft.’s trade marketing coordinator told: the sales growth of market leader SIÓ products was 12 percent, and sales of the Hohes C brand’s Plus range surged by nearly 25 percent. Dóra Pessenlehner, shopper marketing manager of Coca-Cola HBC Magyarország reckons that the importance of juices and nectars is growing in the category, and this is reflected in the Cappy portfolio too.

Anett Polyák
trade marketing
manager
Rauch Hungária

Anett Polyák, Rauch Hungária Kft.’s trade marketing manager pointed it out that the market of chilled, freshly pressed fruit juices is growing – the Rauch Juice Bar range is a fine example of these. Sales of Garden Juice Kft.’s products developed fast in 2018. Sales director Mihály Kozma thinks that juice is one of the fastest growing segments.

Cholnoky Anna
brand manager
Maspex Olympos

Maspex Olympos Kft.’s Topjoy brand has become one of the top brands recently, focusing on the small-sized bottle format – we learned from brand manager Anna Cholnoky.

Balogh Zsóka
marketingvezető
In-Food 2000

In-Food 2000 Kft.’s marketing manager Zsóka Balogh sees constant development in the fruit juice category. The company is the distributor of the Pfanner brand, which has been standing strongly in the Hungarian market for 20 years.

Private label sales increased in 2018 as retailers managed to restore trust in the category. Mr Kozma’s opinion is that the majority of retailers would like to see the retail chain’s name or logo on products.

Dóra Pessenlehner
shopper marketing
manager
Coca-Cola HBC
Magyarország

Ms Pessenlehner shed light on the fact that the sales growth was outstanding in the discount supermarket channel (they have a 31-percent share in fruit juice value sales), and sales of private label fruit juices also improved considerably. Ms Papp-Zelena talked to us about changing consumption habits and the growing importance of not only discount supermarkets but also online stores! The popularity of On the Go products is growing. As consumer expectations are getting higher, demand is on the rise for fruit juices with higher fruit content. Ms Balogh talked to Trade magazin about their attempts to develop the right product selection for the discount supermarket channel.

Shoppers are searching for new product categories, exciting flavour combination and interesting packaging solutions. SIÓ-Eckes has very loyal buyers, so the company’s intention isn’t starting a price competition that could result in lower quality, but offering value to customers for which they are willing to pay more than for private label fruit juices. Shoppers prefer special flavours from Maspex Olympos Kft.’s small-sized bottle Topjoy products – cactus, mango, watermelon and sour cherry-apple. To consumers who like the carton format, the company recommends the Vitamin and Fruits of the World product ranges. Coca-Cola HBC Magyarország came out with new nectar flavours early this year. Consumers really like flavour mixes, which motivate new buyers for trying the products. It is still 1-litre products that dominate in the Cappy range, but sales of 250ml and 330ml products are also increasing dynamically.

Mihály Kozma
sales director
Garden Juice

Garden Juice Kft.’s expectation is that shoppers will be looking for products in eco-friendly packaging.

Ms Polyák revealed that Rauch adds two, exciting new flavours to its product portfolio, so the freshly pressed juices of Rauch Juice Bar will already be available in 6 flavours. Happy Days products got a new packaging design last year. Maspex Olympos Kft. is preparing for the 2019 season with two new products: ice teas in the Topjoy small-sized bottle range, in lemon and peach flavours. Topjoy’s brand new product range, Fruit + H2O is made from fruit juice and water only, without added sugar. Its 41-42 percent fruit content guarantees the nice fruity flavour; it is available in raspberry, strawberry and lemon versions.

Vilmos Várkonyi
senior brand manager
Maspex Olympos

Vilmos Várkonyi, the company’s senior brand manager added that Kubu Play Ice Tea had come out in peach and strawberry flavours.

Sió-Eckes Kft.’s SIÓ Light product range realised a more than 50 percent sales growth from 2017 to 2018. This year brought the debut of SIÓ Smoothie. From January Coca-Cola HBC Magyarország’s 20-25 percent fruit content fruit drinks are marketed in Tetra Pak packaging. New flavour combinations also came out: Citrus Mix, Fruit Mix and Berry Mix. The summer sensation is the May launch of Cappy Lemonade. Garden Juice Kft.’s latest product is the 100 percent fruit content apple-plum juice, in blue packaging. Innovation work is underway in the fields of both flavours and packaging. In-Food 2000 Kft. has recently put a raspberry and a pineapple-coconut nectar on the market. The company’s plans include making their products available in 1- and 2-litre sizes too. //