All kinds of everything

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2023/5

Consumers like and seek innovations in this category

Growing gluten-free product selection

Nestlé Hungária Kft.’s seasonal product selection includes gluten-free KitKat, Smarties and After Eight products.

Brand manager Lilla Kelemen:

Lilla Kelemen
brand manager
Nestlé Hungária

“KitKat gluten-free products are the most popular, especially the 29g Santa Claus filled chocolate figure available in the Christmas period and the product’s Rabbit figure versions available at Easter. This Easter shoppers will find new gluten-free filled mini eggs in shops: in addition to the already available Smarties 81g and KitKat 90g eggs, they can now choose the caramel-flavoured KitKat 90g and the strawberry-flavoured After Eight 90g filled eggs too”.

There is no stopping with innovation

There is strong demand for gluten-free products in the bar segment too, and 3 from Cerbona Élelmiszergyártó Zrt.’s top 5 muesli bars are gluten-free.

Szilvia Hajduvári
head of marketing
Cerbona

Szilvia Hajduvári, head of marketing at Cerbona Élelmiszergyártó Zrt.:

“Gluten-free sales are growing in both value and volume. Recently we have been focusing on developing functional products. At the end of the summer or in early autumn we are going to launch a new gluten-free bar range. We have so many ideas, and one thing is for sure: there is no stopping with innovation, because shoppers like and expect new products”.

Free-from products are usually more expensive, so typically shoppers decide which one to buy based on price or brand loyalty.

Adrienn Kőszegi, category manager of Rossmann Magyarország Kft.:

Adrienn Kőszegi
category manager
Rossmann Magyarország

“Several products are gluten-free, have no added sugar and is vegan at the same time. Large-sized products are popular and it are also important to emphasise the free-from information on the packaging. We are getting ready to roll out an organic gluten-free snack brand, with products that are also rich in protein, have no added sugar, and are made from vegan ingredients”.

Excellent quality at affordable prices

Lidl Magyarország stores sell approximately 350 lactose- and gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian and organic products.

Judit Tőzsér
head of company
communication
Lidl Magyarország

Head of company communication Judit Tőzsér:

“Our policy with the gluten-free assortment is to offer excellent quality at the best prices possible. From the gluten-free products available in Lidl stores, the most popular are sliced bread and various rolls and pastries baked in-store. Shoppers can also choose from a large selection of gluten-free flour mixes, pastas, biscuits, deserts and snacks. Temporarily gluten-free frozen pizza, fish fingers chicken nuggets and filled pastas are also available”.

Manufacturers tend to increasingly cross-promote products for consumers with different food sensitivities

Boglárka Zágonyi
food category sales specialist
Magyar Piszke Papír

Boglárka Zágonyi, food category sales specialist of Magyar Piszke Papír Kft.:

“Those who aren’t sensitive to gluten, just like to follow a gluten-free diet for some reason, probably quit these rather expensive products more easily, but loyalty to a brand and to high quality are a strong bond”. Consumers prefer products that can be prepared quickly and easily, are free from additives and made from natural ingredients.

Packaged separately

Magyar Piszke Papír Kft.’s product selection includes breads, breadcrumbs and pizza base, and they are adding new gluten-free pastries to the assortment, plus based on partner demand they develop flour mixes and breads too. In order to avoid cross-contamination, products are packaged individually – in this category they simply can’t be sold without packaging. Last year the company’s production capacity increased, thanks to the new automatic packaging line; what is more, in January 2023 they also installed new mixing equipment for making flour mixes. Products are also available in sizes tailored to the needs of HoReCa units.

Increasing selection enhances manufacturers’ competition that reflects in prices and innovations

Gof Hungary Kft.’s most popular products are easy-to-prepare oat pastas, which contain nothing but water and wholemeal oat flour, so they are completely free from additives.

Alexandra Kulcsárné Kovács
sales director
Gof Hungary

Sales director Alexandra Kovács:

“Our sliced oat and oat semolina stand alone in the market. Sliced oat is excellent for sides or as a filling, while oat semolina can be used to prepare delicious desserts or breaded food”.

In 2023 the company plans to launch healthy new breakfast snacking products. They keep monitoring consumer needs and habits, and innovate according to these.

New ingredients and recipes

György Fider, CEO of Hunorganic Kft.:

György Fider
CEO
Hunorganic

Consumers prefer easy and fast-to-prepare products that make a convenient part of life on weekdays

It is Foodnet Zrt. that distributes it’s us products, and their experience is that flour mixes and pastas are the most popular.

Brand manager Noémi Papp-Mile:

“Fresh baked goods made from the “it’s us mimen” sorghum flour mix – from which the award winning bread was made – offer basically the same culinary experience as the breads, rolls and pastries made from traditional wheat flour”. //