Magazine: Oat’s renaissance

Thanks to an excellent sales performance from mueslis and muesli bars, cereal sales have increased by 8 percent recently. Klaudia Takács, associate marketing manager of Nestlé Hungária Kft. told our magazine that mueslis perform better than breakfast cereals because consumer opinion is that they are healthier. She added that Nestlé breakfast cereals also contain iron, calcium and several kinds of vitamins. The majority of Nestlé’s sales is realised in hyper- and supermarkets but discount stores also play a key role in the market.

According to Gyöngyi Andrásné Györkös, head of sales at Naponta Kft., there is growing demand for gluten-and lactose-free products, and more and more consumers want products with no added sugar or reduced sugar content. From Cerbona’s 14 different muesli bars 2 contain no added sugar and 4 are made with reduced sugar content.

Bernadett Buday, sales and marketing director of Cornexi Food Kft. added that oat, spelt and millet are making great progress because of their beneficial health effects. Sales are also increasing because retailers have realised that it works better if healthy products have their own section in shops. In the 4th quarter of 2015 Nestlé reacted to the growing demand for oat-based products by putting wholemeal cereal Nestlé OATS on the market. As sales of Nestlé’s gluten-free products also keep growing, in May a third flavour will be launched in the company’s gluten-free CORN FLAKES range. In addition to improving sales, it is also very important for the company to educate consumers about breakfast cereals and about the importance of having breakfast, in order to build the category.

There is a certain level of seasonality in cereal sales, one of the peak months is September, when the school year starts. Cornexi started the production of breakfast cereals with no added sugar early this year. Cocoa cereal balls, cocoa cereal flakes with fruits and raspberry-yogurt cereal rings were launched in 300g size. These products contain 0 percent added sugar. Cornexi’s other new innovations are also going to be created in the spirit of health consciousness. The company’s communication strategy focuses on educating consumers, for instance they started a blog that helps shoppers to find the products which suit their needs the best.

Cerbona is market leader in the muesli and muesli bar categories, and the main driving force behind the company’s activities is innovation. They have also experienced growing demand for oat products, so the company has created its own oat product portfolio, which consists of oat bars, crispy oat flakes, oat cereals, oat bran and oatmeal flour. It was also in 2015 that Cerbona put a gluten-free product line on the market: two types of muesli bar, muesli in plastic cup and stuffed nut pillows – these products are lactose-free too. With the plastic-cup muesli the company managed to strengthen its position in the on-the-go segment. In its communication strategy Cerbona focuses on online activities and on meeting consumers in person.