Canned food: the opening goes well

Canned food sales have been at a standstill for quite a while, but in certain segments several changes took place. Sándor Szórádi, the managing director of Szatmári Konzervgyár Kft. told our magazine that the biggest obstacle to sales growth is that people think of canned food as something containing preservatives. Marketing campaigns can help to change this situation, telling that heat-processed vegetables, fruits and food contain no preservatives. András Szirbek, marketing director of Bonduelle talked to us about decreasing canned food sales in hypermarkets and their improving performance in the supermarket channel. The biggest winner of recent years has been discount stores, but the two-digit growth seems to have ended the channel. In the vegetable category corn sales have been increasing and the trend is positive in smaller segments, e.g. products with higher added value such as beans in sauce; chickpea has also become trendy and sales have started growing. Private label products’ market share is high in the canned food market. Branded products are fighting them by offering a wider selection of canned food with added value. Bonduelle is the biggest, most popular and most innovative canned vegetable brand in Hungary. In product size the 500g version dominates, but the company is the only one in the market that also offers 1kg canned vegetables. Mr Szórádi informed that consumers tend to prefer canned food that is sweeter and reduced salt content is also trendy. Sales of Szatmári Konzervgyár Kft.’s Rege products are 2-3 times bigger in promotion. In the last few years the company put several new, innovative products on the market, e.g. flavoured gherkins, sour cherry-raspberry and sour cherry-strawberry preserves. HAMÉ Hungária Kft.’s PR manager Dr Petr Kopáček told Trade magazin that their sales have been growing value-proportionately in the otherwise stable market. Hamé and Globus products in aluseal packaging are especially popular. The company’s experience is that the weight of private label products is decreasing in the market. In the second half of the year Hamé will put a completely new product line on the market: Easy Sandwich patés (meat, fish, vegetable) in 100g resealable plastic packaging. GA FOOD has a major competitive advantage in the market as it is a member of GASTON GROUP, the market leader supplier of imported canned food in Central and Eastern Europe. Attila Ádám, commercial director of GA FOOD Kft. talked to us about the company’s great growth potential in the Hungarian market. In the last three years their sales tripled. Consumer demand for healthy products is growing, so the company put a new product line on the market, Giana fish paté in 3 versions, with high fish content. They also offer 6 different types of tuna salad under the Giana brand. With the Franz Josef Kaiser (FJK) brand the company targets consumers who want premium quality products, e.g. FJK Tuna Steak in 80g and 170g version. GA FOOD was the first to distribute tuna in aluminium pouch packaging: Giana Tuna Chunks in Oil is available in 1kg and 3kg version. Del Pierre Central Europe Kft. isn’t a ‘specialist’ firm as they sell a wide range of products, from sandwich spreads to canned vegetables to canned fish. Marketing manager Márta Záhorszki spoke to our magazine about representing superb international canned fish brands in Hungary such as King Oscar, Big Fish and La Perla, while their own Twist, Ocean and Sea Fish products are also conquering the market, slowly but steadily. Glatz Hungary’s marketing manager Hilda Helyes explained to us that Excelsior is the brand of their Austrian parent company, and thanks to them they can easily monitor trends and changes in the world market when purchasing product ingredients. In Glatz Hungary’s portfolio we can find canned tuna, mackerel, sardines, herring and fruits of the sea, plus lots of fruit products such as pineapple and peach; at the moment the only vegetable product is sliced mushrooms.