Magazine: Richer in flavours

Anita Plánk
ideation lead
Unilever Magyarország

In the last 10 years the wet condiment category didn’t stop developing, and after the panic-buying in 2020 sales didn’t drop in 2021 either. We learned from Anita Plánk, Unilever Magyarország’s ideation lead that taste is what matters to most to consumers, this is what dressings are about: making food even tastier. Shoppers like to try new flavours and family gatherings are important sales drivers. More than 40 percent of core dressings (ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise) are sold in the Easter and Christmas periods.

Thinking of vegans too

One of this year’s most exciting innovations is Hellmann’s vegan ‘baconnaise’: a vegan mayonnaise with a smoked bacon taste – made without bacon. The Hellmann’s vegan mayonnaise portfolio was launched in early 2020 and sales have been developing nicely, even though these products still have a small market share compared with standard products. There is a garlic-flavoured Hellmann’s vegan mayonnaise as well. Both the Hellmann’s and the Globus brands will come out with new innovations this year. Online sales are on the rise, in part due to the fact that the pandemic changed the shopping habits of many people.

A strong year is envisaged

Rita Bazsó
marketing manager
Univer Product

Univer sauces are available to shoppers in several sizes, packaging variants and flavours. Rita Bazsó, Univer Product Zrt.’s marketing manager spoke to our magazine about the special products they rolled out last year – Garlic mayonnaise, Remoulade sauce, Horseradish mustard, etc. She revealed that the company’s best-seller products are the large-sized variants and the base flavours. Univer plans with a strong year for 2022, which involves launching more new flavours.

Building a future innovatively – relying on traditions

József Bacskai
head of sales
KOCH’s Torma

2021 was an exceptionally good year for KOCH’s: sales jumped significantly in both the domestic and the international market. Head of sales József Bacskai informed that relying on their experiences from foreign markets, KOCH’s has recently changed its domestic strategy. For instance they deleted their 350g horseradish products and only sell 200g or smaller variants in retail. As regards spicing, the company is going in the direction of more natural and healthier wet condiments. Almost every product has a small symbol to explain the various product benefits to shoppers. The most successful horseradish products are still the ones made with cream. Last year’s new flavours included mango, orange and cranberry. In 2022 the KOCH’s brand is going to be revamped: products will get a new look that is both innovative and premium. In its marketing work the company will focus more on young consumers than before. They want 15-35 year old shoppers to learn about KOCH’s premium products.

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Exotic and healthy

Nóra Czugéber
brand manager
Lacikonyha Magyarország

Lacikonyha Magyarország distributes Ízmester horseradish and mustard products, and sales were really satisfactory in 2021 – said Nóra Czugéber, Lacikonyha Magyarország Kft.’s brand manager. The company’s Russian and Czech mustard specialties are very popular in the market, and it also has to do with the current health trend that more and more shoppers choose these preservative-free, rustic-looking products in glass jar packaging. Lacikonyha’s expectation is that this trend will continue. //

Growing demand for mayonnaise

Guest writer:
Szilvia Holocsi
senior customer
consultant
NielsenIQ

Retail sales of wet condiments – mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard – exceeded HUF 24 billion between December 2020 and November 2021. Value sales were up 5 percent and Hungarian consumers preferred manufacturer brands in all three segments. Ketchup sales were worth more than HUF 8 billion. Value sales augmented by 5 percent in the examined period, while volume sales climbed 4 percent. Stores bigger than 400m² played the main role in sales, realising 78 percent of value sales.

Mayonnaise sales went above HUF 11 billion, having grown by 1 percent in value and 7 percent in volume at more than 9 million kilograms. Stores with a floor space above 2,500m² realised 47 percent of value sales. Mustard sales neared HUF 5 billion, value sales dropped a little and volume sales went down 6 percent, staying a bit below 5 million kilograms. 2,500m² and bigger stores had a 44-percent share in sales. In all three product categories consumer demand was smaller for light versions, this share being the biggest for mayonnaise at 13 percent. //

Mayonnaise sales are influenced the most by Christmas and Easter

Guest writer:
András Kuntner
business development
manager/retail
GfK

According to MAT sales data from November 2021, wet condiment (ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise) volume sales hardly changed from the base period, only mustard sales dropped 4 percent. The average household purchases wet condiments 3-4 times a year, 0.72kg of ketchup, 0.55kg of mayonnaise and 0.45kg of mustard per occasion. Half of the ketchup purchased is manufacturer brands, branded mayonnaise products have a 52-percent share and the branded proportion is 56 percent in the mustard category.

It is noteworthy that the per household spending on branded products is much bigger than on private labels (PL), e.g. 1kg of branded ketchup costs HUF 1,074, while PL ketchup costs only HUF 493/kg. Sales jump in the Christmas and Easter periods in all three segments, but the boost effect of these holidays was the biggest on mayonnaise in the last two years. For instance in the average month less than a quarter of households purchase mayonnaise, but in December almost 40 percent do.