Turkey in the spotlight

– How well is turkey meat known in Hungary and how popular is it among consumers?

– One of our main tasks is popularising turkey consumption. Unfortunately this meat type suffered a major popularity loss in the 1990s. We are using different communication channels to tell people about the benefits of turkey meat. There are many of these, because turkey has both white and red meat parts. Gallfood has teamed up with nutrition experts to educate consumers about the positive health effects of eating turkey meat.

Severus Nacsa, sales and marketing director of Gallfood

– Turkey meat is more expensive than chicken meat…

– Yes, shoppers have to pay 20-30% more for turkey. Production costs more as turkey is very sensitive poultry. Gallfood follows a breeding strategy that focuses on animal welfare. Soon we are going to launch a new brand for consumers who make sure to only eat turkey meat from responsible farming.

– Do you agree that there are much more conscious consumers than before?

– Absolutely, and we are doing our best to serve their needs. For instance Swiss and German animal rights experts are regularly auditing turkey breeding and processing at Gallfood. We are about to put a new convenience range on the market, and recently our products were showcased at the SIRHA trade fair too.

– Most of the turkey you process comes from Gallfood’s own farms. What are the benefits of this?

– It guarantees safety, as it is us who decide how to breed them, by this also guaranteeing that the 2 million turkeys we process in a year are a steady source of safe and fresh meat for our partners – and for the consumers.

– Do you plan to increase your production capacity?

– Gallfood is signing integrated contracts with a growing number of companies and farmers, and we also plan to build new turkey farms. One of the biggest challenges is the workforce sho- rtage, but rising production costs are also a problem. These factors have forced us to increase prices several times since January, and also to put our expansion plans on hold for a while…

Wellbeing of animals is a major consideration

– Today sustainability is a central element in the strategies of companies. Can you speak about your efforts a little?

– Turkey can be bred sustainably, thanks to having the best meat yield characteristics from all poultry types. The new convenience product range that we are about to launch will already be marketed in recycled or biodegradable packaging. Gallfood’s plan is to replace the currently used plastic packaging formats with green alternatives. Let me also mention that last year we stopped making heat-treated processed products: we only manufacture fresh and ready-to-cook products now.

Healthy, delicious and easty-to-prepare

– What are your plans for the near future?

– We want to strengthen our presence in the HoReCa channel. The first step in this direction will be rolling out a special HoReCa product range, developed in partnership with Chef Lázár. (x)