Magazine: Flavour inspirations

When good weather arrives many Hungarian families leave the kitchen and go outside to cook in a cauldron (‘bogrács’) or to do barbecues. This is the real high season for spices and herbs. Márta Galácz, managing director of Kotányi Hungária Kft. told our magazine that sales of all three of their brands (Kotányi, Horváth Rozi, Orient) increased in 2015, strengthening the company’s domestic market leader position. Shops in residential areas and hypermarkets realise the majority of spice sales. Among packaging formats paper bags dominate.

From the so-called mono spices the basic ones are most popular, but the proportion of herbs is growing in sales. As for spice mixes, classic meat spice mixes are the best sellers, but demand is growing for grill mixes, and for spices for typical Hungarian and international dishes. Ms Galácz added that with Kotányi’s inspirational spices they would like to contribute to making home cooking a creative experience for consumers. Another innovation direction for Kotányi is developing simple, practical solution to make consumers’ everyday life easier. Good examples of these endeavours are the Kotányi 2in1 product range or the company’s manual grinder-type products. Their Light Meal and Salad spice mixes are the perfect solution for health-conscious consumers.

In 2015 Házi Piros Paprika Kft.’s spice and spice mix sales both increased. A wide range of spices and mixes are available under the company’s Házi Arany brand. Sales director Péter Sinkó told us that the high season lasts from May until September, the time of barbecues. This is the period when the company realises two thirds of their annual spice mix sales. Following the health trend, they got rid of flavour enhancers and additives in all spice mixes and came out with a sodium glutamate-free version of their condiment brand, Vito, called Vito+. Seasoning paprika – very often its hot version – is an essential ingredient of many typical Hungarian dishes. Krisztina Kutor, brand manager of Nestlé Hungária Kft. informed us that hot meals are increasingly popular abroad too. This is the reason why the Maggi brand launched a Hot Hen Soup stock cube in 2016, in partnership with Rubin Szeged Pepper Processing Kft. that supplies quality Hungarian crushed red pepper. Since 67 percent of Hungarians older than 16 years like hot dishes, the new product is a real winner as it already adds hotness to the soup’s ingredients while cooking – instead of having to add the hot taste at the end of the process. This year MAGGI came out with an unusual combination in the spice and spice base segment: they launched 2in1 spice bases in three flavour combinations. Roast chicken with herb butter, Gyros chicken bits with tzatziki and Barbecue roast pork with piquant ketchup. These are products that contain two different bases in one bag: one can be used for marinating the meat and the other is a base for making the herb butter or sauce – explained brand manager Borbála Csider.

Domi Fokhagyma Kft. specialises in crushed garlic with spices, packaged in a tube or a bag. Demand for these increases in the barbecue season. Owner István Domonkos told our magazine the company’s tube-format product range was rewarded with an award at the 2013 OMÉK. The bag version of the product easily garbs the attention of consumers. What is more, these bags can be packed with fresh meat products sold in protected atmosphere packaging. In 2015 the bag version of the crushed garlic product won a Hungarian Product Grand Prize and a Packaging Technology Special Award. The product range now consists of five products: crushed garlic, crushed garlic with spices for roast meats and barbecues, crushed garlic with spices for roast poultry, crushed garlic with spices for meatballs and crushed garlic with herbs – the latter is ideal not only for meat but also for flavouring butter or cream cheese.