Magazine: Canned food has grown out of the tin box

Canned food is a large category, in terms of both content and area of use. According to Dr Sándor Szórádi, managing director of Szatmári Konzervgyár Kft., now that there are special import taxes and embargos imposed by various European countries, fruit and vegetable supply might become more difficult in the future. Péter Horowitz, managing director of Del Pierre Kft. told Trade magazin that what consumers want from canned food today is easy opening and containing the right portion of food.

Attila Ádám, sales director of GA FOOD Kft. added that it isn’t only women anymore who pay attention to buy products made from healthy ingredients, but men too. Still, the canned food category is very much price-driven. Zsóka Balogh, marketing manager of INFOOD 2000 Kft. revealed: her company’s observation is that the market of spreadable products is contracting in volume but growing in value in Europe. This means that consumers are willing to buy more expensive canned food products.

The majority of canned food is still available in traditional tin box or aluseal packaging, but according to Ilona Fömötör, managing director of Hamé Hungária Kft., light and lasting plastic packaging solutions are used more and more often. Tibor Nemes, the owner of Import-Trade Hungary Kft. explained to us that thanks to the growing number of environmentally conscious consumers, the use of glass packaging is also spreading. His company’s main products are baby food and desserts, which come in glass and pouch packaging. In his view the latter was the success story of the last 8 years, because these packaging solutions are really comfortable to use for the little ones.

One of the trends in the canned food segment is to develop as convenient, ready-to-use products as possible. A good example of this is the chopped squash product that Szatmári Konzervgyár came out with under their Rege brand. Other Rege products include fruit preserves, canned vegetables and pickles. Ga Food develops resealable and aluminium foil bag products. Their portfolio includes first-price Marinna, medium-priced Giana and premium Franz Josef Kaiser canned foods, and they also manufacture private label products.

Hamé Hungária will soon put 90g cooled patés on the market in trendy plastic packaging. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia EasyCup ready meals are already sold in modern plastic packaging that can be heated in a microwave oven. The company has also launched new baby foods in practical, resealable, small bag packaging – they are easy to use on the go. They have also appeared in stores with 105g Tuna cream, Salmon paté and Mackerel paté products.

Del Pierre Kft. distributes many types of canned food, but their focus is on fish products. In this category the tuna segment has been developing the most dynamically in the last 10 years, but the company also offers sardines, salmon, caviar and various fruits of the sea. Del Pierre Kft.’s Twist brand has been present in the Hungarian market for 10 years. The brand was revamped this summer and will soon return with a new look and many new products.

In-Food 2000 Kft. is present in the canned food market with premium products. Their

top-quality, peeled and chopped Italian tomatoes called Cirio are very popular, but the sauces they offer are also liked by many. Another brand they distribute is Rio Mare, under which they are going to launch a new 220g Insalatissime product this year. A new assortment, called Paté Soft has been added to their spreadable paté products – in addition to the two tuna products Chicken, Mediterranean chicken and Prosciutto are now also available to consumers.

Glatz Hungary has a wide range of canned foods in its portfolio – fish, fruits and vegetables – and not only their own Excelsior brand, but also the brands of partner companies (especially in the canned fish category). As a matter of fact, one of the company’s most innovative categories is fish and fruits of the sea. This is the reason why in addition to the Dani brand, this year they came out with another product range in this segment, called Palacio de Oriente. Another new product is high-quality smoked cod liver iCan that comes straight from Iceland.