Against the tide with innovation

A number of market changes have been reflected by this year’s Anuga. Innovation seems to be the only means of countering the effects of rising agricultural prices with competition getting more intense than ever. Looking at the 83 Hungarian enterprises attending the Cologne exhibition, two trends were apparent. One is that the number of innovative SME-s, aware of market possibilities is growing, and the other is that the Hungarian meat industry is back on the Anuga stage. No less than 14 companies from the meat industry were represented at the collective AMC stand. Apart from them, Kométa 99 Zrt. had an attractive stand of its own. PICK Szeged appeared as a tenant at the impressive stand of its Italian partner Alcisa. Only one product from the Central and Eastern European region was awarded the „Taste 07” prize for innovation and this was the fruit flavoured salami of Balatoni Hús Kft. named “Fructa”, and displayed in a special cabinet on the main street of the exhibition. In the opinion of Dr. Donald Campbell, general director of Spar International: – We are living in an age of growing uncertainty. Changes in consumer preferences are accelerating. At the same time, our costs are rising. We can respond by innovation, undertaking risks and developing a vision of the future. He believes that retail trade can boost its revenues by modernising sales channels. For example, he sees cafés and restaurants in supermarkets as a good idea. He also spoke about agricultural prises rising as a result of the growing demand for bio-fuel and the adequate response by retailers, which should be to cut costs wherever possible along the supply chain. Christian Neu, the other presenter at the opening ceremony, Italian and Northern European director of Danone, does not want to accept shrinking margins. He called for co-operation with retailers in getting higher prices accepted by the public. He emphasised the added value of new products and explained how Danone succeeded in raising its yoghurt prices by 20 per cent. The issue discussed at the Anuga forum was shortage of milk and its consequences for the retail trade. According to Mark Vorbergen , director of Rabobank, demand for milk and dairy products will be 1,5- 2,5 per cent higher than supply in the next five years. As a result, concentration will be the trend in the market, with fusions and mergers. Representing manufacturers, Kim Christensen, marketing director of Arla Foods International spoke about their prospects. He pointed out that the balance in the global market of dairy products has been upset. Milk has become a far more precious commodity than before. Their response has been to reduce their assortment drastically and to focus on communicating the necessity of higher prices. Pro Form Kft., a manufacturer of packaging, was one of the Hungarian companies which had chosen to have a stand of its own. Kométa focused on salami and ham products. Krisztina Bódi, head of marketing has told us that half of their revenues are generated by export. Apart form neighbouring countries, they also export to Italy, Spain and even Korea or Japan. Balatoni Hús won an award for innovation. Its director, Imre Pacsay believes that their main strength is constant innovation and a special assortment, which is composed of 68 products, including 22 sausages. Their products which contain few additives are targeted at health-conscious consumers. Biogreen International Kft. is taking advantage of the “bio-trend” with its „revolutionary new basic material for the food industry”. Based on a patent by dr. Ferenc Föglein, this family business produces ground flax seed, flax oil, flax flour and emulsion under the label “Linom”. Flax can be used for making many kinds of food products, especially as flax seed has a high Omega-3 fatty acid content.