Treasure hunt

Super premium category and special beers are of moderate importance in domestic retail, but in HoReCa they are more and more present. In the past 2-3 years, a wide selection of these was made available in hypermarkets. Ferdinánd Beer House in Budapest opened in March and owner Imre Martin consciously decided to sell beers that Hungarian consumers did not know. He signed an exclusive contract for the Hungarian market with a small brewery, called Ferdinand, situated 25 km from Prague.

Two types of Ferdinand beer won awards at the most prestigious Czech beer competition, but their prices are not higher than other premium beers’ available in Budapest bars. Horváth restaurant will be the first to sell special ale from this summer, a German altbier brewed in and near Düsseldorf – we learned from owner Csaba Szoó. Belgaco Kft. imports more than 100 types of beer. Owners János Tamáska and Zoltán Nánási say their annual turnover is 2,000-3,000 hectolitres. They import two dozens of ‘strategic’ brands, mainly abbey, Trappist and fruit beers. An increasing number of restaurants realise the necessity to offer beer specialties and young consumers are happy to taste and learn about these beers. With a bit of practice anyone can become an expert, say the owners. Trends in world gastronomy suggest that these quality products have great perspectives in Hungary.

Belgaco sell half of the products they distribute to bars and restaurants; their most popular products are fruit beers, Duval and Delirium Tremens. Judit Schiff, the managing director of beer importer Parador Kft. says the after the breakthrough of Belgian beers a few years ago, it is now British-type beers – and ciders – that are about to spread. The company managed to increase both volume and value sales. Retail sales are also catching up, the managing director forecasts that only a 40-percent of their sales will be realised in bars and restaurants this year. Parador also imports mellower beers such as San Miguel, Baltika or Maccabee. Gusztáv Jakab, the managing director of beer importer Liquid Gold Kft. told our magazine that in the category with a 1.5-2 percent market share in Hungary, Czech and German beer sales somewhat decreased, while Guinness and wheat bear sales augmented.

The latest additions to their portfolio are fruit-flavoured Lindemans lambic beers and Spain’s Estrella Damm. The Radler market is small, but it keeps expanding: Gergely Somoskövi, Pécs Brewery’s brand manager informed us that their Radler sales are growing. This product has a low, 1.4% alcohol content and it targets those who do not drink beer often; it is available in lemon and elder versions. Nearly 20 percent of their sales are realised in the HoReCa sector. Corn beers are imported from Central America. Péter Fehér, commercial director of Italguru Kft. told our magazine that they imported Sol, the most popular Mexican corn beer. Formerly they had also imported tequila beer, but these did not manage to gain popularity in Hungary.