Magazin: Consumers reward themselves, but they also make compromises

Túró rudis and dairy snacks can be considered the mixture of countline chocolate and dairy products. The collective term for these products is chilled milk desserts. Basically the category satisfies the demand for self-rewarding and builds on milk’s healthy image. Chilled milk desserts can be successful on condition that they find the exact price consumers are still willing to pay for rewarding themselves. According to Szilvia Szutor, FrieslandCampina Hungária Zrt.’s senior brand manager shoppers are still spending in a conscious fashion and they even compare prices when buying snack cheaper than HUF 100. The only exception is Pöttyös because its buyers remain loyal to the real túró rudi brand. Manufacturers without a strong brand are forced to compete on price level. Last year the market remained stable in terms of value but a decline occurred in volume sales. With its ‘Every 5th wins’ promotion Pöttyös won a record number of participants, which activity they continued in 2013 with ‘Every 5th wins – and the rest as well!’. From a packaging unit perspective what we can see is a shift towards smaller product size, probably because consumers have less money to spend per shopping occasion and they need to make compromises when rewarding themselves with chilled milk desserts. Among retail channels discounters gained ground to the detriment of hypermarkets. Consumers are absolutely open to new products, especially when they come under a prestigious brand name. The banana version of Pöttyös Túró Rudi appeared in stores in mid-June and the peanut butter version of Giant Pöttyös Túró Rudi was put on the market mid-July. September ushers in the debut of School Box: a universal plastic box which – having eaten the six 23g Pöttyös Túró Rudis inside – can serve as a children’s lunch box or pencil box. Mizo’s túró rudi sales surpassed expectations last year, thanks to the new Mizo Top Cocoa and Mizo Top Floating Island desserts – we are informed by László Szilágyi, sales and marketing director of Sole-Mizo Zrt. Last year the company also came out with real milk chocolate-coated Mizo Super Rudi Duó. Mizo’s experience is that from traditional túró rudis the plain version is the most popular but consumers are happy to try new flavours too. In the second half of 2012 Mizo revamped the design of products. Bernadett Strasser-Kátai, owner-managing director of Mona Hungary Kft. told our magazine that unlike túró rudis, dairy snacks are able to increase sales from year to year. The company’s Montice bars have been successful on the market since 2008. Behind market leading Kinder Montice is stable in the second place, satisfying consumer demand with honey, coconut and cocoa versions. With its Montice brand Mona Hungary has been supporting Budapest Zoo for years. The famous Summer Zoo Camps, teaching children a love of nature, are also financed by the company.