Magazine: Let’s have a party!

The barbecue season starts at the end of April or in early May, and grill product sales are greatly influenced by the weather. Still, in spite of the cooler weather last summer, grill product sales grew. Probably this also had to do with the fact that product prices haven’t increased for four years. According to Zsolt Kazai, sales manager of Wiesbauer-Dunahús Kft., not even the ban on Sunday trading and cutting pork’s VAT had a negative influence on grill product sales. SPAR’s experience was – informed head of communications Márk Maczelka – that sales of their private label grill sausages dropped a little, but sales of the nearly 30 fresh meat products developed very well. Mr Maczelka opined that the reason behind the latter was the VAT cut mentioned above. From SPAR’s grill products demand increased for high-quality, premium category products, e.g. beef steak.

Hungarian-style flavours remained popular, people still prefer hot, pepper, paprika and garlic flavoured grill sausages. Hungarian consumers like to try new flavours, but they always return to the good old taste they know so well. Last year Wiesbauer-Dunahús realised a two-digit sales growth in the grill product category. Sales of the private label products that they manufacture expanded above the average. This year their premium grill sausage products –which they put on the market in 2016 – will get a new packaging design.

The share of private label products in sales is rather high. Péter Gnám, key account manager of Landhof Hungária Kft. told our magazine that more than 50 percent of grill products is sold in promotion. Last year was a good one for the company, the star products being large-sized Grill Party and White Grill Sausage (Bratwurst). 200g Landhof Griller products are still dominant in the company’s product selection. This season the company puts the Hungarian-paprika version of White Grill Sausage on the market. Krisztina Bódi, marketing director of Kométa 99 Zrt. informed us that this summer they are going to add several new products to the Kométa Quick Dinner range: Hamburger, Meat Patty and Meat Balls.

A growing proportion of consumers are experimenting with marinated meats in the barbecue season. This trend offers manufacturers the chance to develop and market new products. Zsuzsa Takácsné Rácz, director of commerce at Pápai Hús Kft. revealed that they manufacture a large selection of marinated meat products, and recently the share of these has increased significantly within grill product sales. Their marinated meat products are available in Hungarian-style and gyros flavours, with bone or deboned, in vacuum packaging, with protective atmosphere, in consumer and gastro sizes. The majority of volume sales is still realised by sausage products, in Hungarian, chilli and cheese versions. Pápai Hús also sells mix packs; all of the company’s grill products are marketed in 400g packs. This year products will appear on store shelves in new packaging.