Wiener season approaches with fervent price promotions

Wiener is as popular as it used to be: according to Nielsen, from November to December in 2011 volume sales augmented by 52 percent and value sales rose by 40 percent. Boglárka Grabant, head of marketing and trade marketing at Sága Foods Zrt. told our magazine the average wiener price was HUF 989/kg in December 2011, 5.2 percent higher than in December 2010.

Zoltán Szántó, product manager with Pick Szeged Zrt. informed Trade magazin that soaring fodder prices would entail a considerable increase in pork prices, as a result of which (and because of the bad conditions in the domestic meat industry) consumer prices are expected to grow significantly in the remaining part of the year. According to Jens Hillebrand, Zimbo Perbál Kft.’s regional manager in South East Europe because of elevated prices many manufacturers will decide to offer poorer quality to remain competitive. Zimbo Perbál rejects this option as they know that health-conscious customers choose the company’s products because of the high quality requirements they meet. As for base materials, 60 percent of wiener products are made from poultry meat. Private label products represent one third of the market, so branded wieners still have a 70-percent share. It is characteristic of the wiener category that consumers tend to focus on quality and they are more willing to try new products than before. Discount stores managed to increase their importance among retail channels. Another market trend is the promotion-oriented behaviour of consumers. However, it is noteworthy that low price in itself is not enough: consumers also want quality, so what really matters to them is a good price/value ratio. By the end of the year promotional prices will be higher than they were last season. Sága, the market leading wiener manufacturer will put the Füstli range in the limelight this season, which has been successful for 12 years. They are also preparing for the end of the year with a surprise. Pick Szeged Zrt. cannot be deterred from competing in the quality wiener category. Premium Békebeli cracking wiener in sheep casing is one of the company’s flagship products, together with Pick artificial casing and Pick vacuum-packed wieners or the 180g Frankfurter. Under the company’s Família brand, introduced in 2010, poultry-meat wieners are sold. These products target the most price-sensitive buyers. ZIMBO’s premium wieners compete in the higher price categories. In terms of innovation they are going in the direction of higher meat content, allergen-free ingredients, natural flavours and unique spicing. They also pay great attention to resealable and aroma-preserving packaging solutions. For the wiener season they are preparing with special new flavours.