Magazine: Something natural, prepared quickly and simply

The price of frozen vegetables and fruits depends on vegetable and fruit prices, which are shaped by weather conditions. This year the summer was very hot and dry, therefore in many vegetable and fruit varieties the yield was much lower than usual. Zoltán Sánta, marketing and domestic trade director of MIRELITE MIRSA Zrt. told our magazine that demand has been growing for convenience products for years. From the company’s portfolio the sales of ready-to-cook products increased the most in 2015. FRoSTA Hungary Kft. also experiences the growing importance of ready-to-cook products – sales director Attila Sárközi informed us. The company was the first in Hungary to launch the 100-percent natural taste programme: they use no flavour enhancer, colouring and artificial aroma in FRoSTA products.

Rita Takács, brand manager of Maresi Foodbroker Kft. explained that more and more consumers want simple food, which can be prepared quickly and easily, and this is really good news for the frozen food category. Private label products are still going strong in the category and among retail channels hypermarkets and discount stores dominate. Large-sized products are the most popular in these units, but in certain categories smaller products managed to make progress. Peas and traditional vegetable mixes are the most sought-after, in 0.4-1kg size. This year MIRELITE MIRSA’s Apple Croquettes product won a special award at the National Agriculture and Food Exhibition (OMÉK) and just recently the company put MIRELITE Sautéed Red Cabbage on the market. A wide selection of frozen products can be found in shops under the MIRELITE brand name, from vegetables to ready-to-cook products to noodles. They can cater for the needs of those who like traditional flavours, those who like eating healthy and consumers who are looking for convenience products. In marketing the MIRELITE Street Food Truck has been a great success, visiting festivals, street food events and retailers’ promotional events. With its 100-percent natural taste programme FRoSTA proved that tasty and characteristic frozen food products can be made without using additives. What is more, all of FRoSTA’s fish products come from authenticated sustainable fisheries, as it is indicated by the MSC marking on products. The company does two television campaigns a year, and these are backed with strong online activity. Iglo has frozen vegetable and fish products in the market. Sales keep growing in terms of both value and volume. Frozen vegetable sales improved by a one-digit number, while frozen fish product sales augmented by two-digit numbers – fish fingers are the most popular year after year. In 2015 the company has already rolled out three television campaigns for Iglo frozen fish products. n