Convenience boom

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2025/6-7.

Suits our changing lifestyles

Beáta Bukovenszki
head of domestic
sales department
Gallicoop

Gallicoop Pulykafeldolgozó Zrt. offers convenience products such as quick-frozen, smoked and quick-marinated ready-to-cook breaded products, and ready-to-eat sliced and seasoned turkey meat products. Sales of these products increased in the past year and a half, driven by our fast-paced lifestyles and changing cooking habits. Consumer expectations are increasingly shifting towards natural ingredients, no additives, high meat content and practical packaging.

In every hyper- and supermarket chain

Ferenc Szlávik
owner-managing director
Brodo Hungary

Convenience products are expected to play a more important role in the short, medium and long term, with the appearance of new shopper generations providing further momentum. We began introducing the Italian-made STAR Il Mio Brodo broth product range to the Hungarian market in 2020. Today at least three (beef, chicken and vegetable) from the five flavours are available in every hyper- and supermarket chain, and sales growth remains strong in the triple digits.

Bigger role for smaller formats

Tamás Kósa
domestic sales director 
Hungerit

Hungerit Zrt. offers quick-frozen, breaded and ready-to-cook poultry convenience products under the Valdor brand name. Convenience product sales have shown a positive trend recently, generated not only by households but also by the HoReCa sector. The growth is mainly the result of growing interest in smaller formats and single- or double-serve products. There is also bigger demand for high meat content, natural ingredients and additive-free products.

Keeping up with the trends

Zita Müller
brand manager
Maresi Foodbroker

Maresi Foodbroker Kft. distributes frozen and chilled convenience products: Iglo vegetables and fish sticks and Tante Fanny fresh pasta. We experienced double-digit sales growth for both brands in the past 1.5 years. Health-conscious, sugar-free and affordable products that cater to various food intolerances continue to be successful – consumers are willing to pay a slightly higher price for these.

Plant-based, protein-rich breakfast

Andrea Hegedűsné Tóth
commercial director
BiOrganik Online

BiOrganik Online has been offering health-conscious, 100% vegan products for over 20 years. All of our products are made in our own allergen-free factory. We have noticed a market niche: clean, plant-based, protein-rich breakfasts – this has inspired us to launch our new protein porridge. This vegan and gluten-free breakfast product is already available in SPAR stores and debuts in Tesco and Auchan store in June.

Speeding up kitchen processes

Emőke Stefán-Takács 
marketing manager
Chef Market

HoReCa units show an even bigger demand for convenience products than consumers, as they speed up kitchen processes and minimise time loss. Chef Market pays attention to the constantly changing needs of HoReCa customers. In addition to the highest quality instant products, our portfolio includes a large selection of vegetables prepared for kitchen use, at various stages of processing. Our Ponthier fruit and vegetable purées are a 100% substitute for real vegetables and fruits.

All the benefits of frozen products

Dr. Valéria Gergely 
owner
Gergely Gasztronomi

Gergely Gasztronomi Kft. manufactures quick-frozen semi-finished noodle products such as plum dumplings, noodles and cottage cheese dumplings. In today’s fast-paced world time is of the essence, which is why consumers continue to favour delicious, home cooking style meals that are quick and easy to prepare at home. A big advantage of frozen products is that they are preservative-free and contain no artificial additives.

A segment destined for growth

Norbert Pásztor
operative director
Marnevall

Our offering covers a variety of quick-frozen, breaded and fried products. We realised a 20% sales growth in the past year and a half. Currently a complex situation is unfolding on the market. Consumers are looking for products that offer good value for money, they are becoming more health- and environmentally conscious. This market segment is expected to see further growth, both domestically and globally.

Consumers are more health conscious now

Dr. Adrienn Losó
director
MIRELITE MIRSA

From the convenience products manufactured by Mirelite Mirsa Zrt., quick-frozen game sauce and steamed cabbage are the most popular, which are sold ready-to-cook. Consumer expectations have shifted towards health consciousness and we believe this trend will only continue to strengthen. The convenience product market will keep expanding, as time is becoming more important for everyone.

Products that fit new form of eating

Tibor Horváth
head of frozen food
department
Mirbest

The demand for convenience products keeps growing, as in this fast-paced world there is a need for quality food that can be prepared quickly. This trend is reinforced by changes in the eating habits of the younger generation. Young people increasingly prefer fast, practical and mobile forms of eating, such as street food and various convenience foods. Flexibility and time efficiency are important to them, but they also expect taste and visual appeal.

Trendy product selection in modern packaging

Márk Maczelka
head of communications 
SPAR

In response to consumer demand, the SPAR enjoy. convenience plant produces foods that provide quick, nutritious, yet high-quality meals for busy weekdays: ready meals, sandwiches, and mayonnaise salads. Sales of convenience products increased by double-digit numbers in the past 18 months. In 2025 we are rolling out an ultra-fresh food category, which involves night/early morning production and morning delivery. 

Customers are looking for simple and quick solutions

Miklós Ostermayer
country director
Lantmännen

We are present on the convenience food market with our pre-packaged, non-refrigerated hamburger and hot dog buns in various sizes – which are marketed under our own Schulstad brand – but we manufacture private label products for retail chains, too. Schulstad pre-packaged hamburger and hot dog buns only need 2 minutes of heating for the best quality. We expect further growth in the future, as consumers are looking for simple and quick solutions.

Experience and composition are both decisive factors

Ádám Nagy
managing director
Nádudvari Élelmiszer

Nádudvari offers a large selection of convenience products, from breaded quick-frozen meats and vegetables to various types of fried cheeses, and soup mixes and desserts. Consumers expect convenience products to be tasty, reliable and health-conscious if possible. For conscious but time-pressed shoppers, these products aren’t just a necessity but have become an integral part of modern eating habits – in addition to convenience, experience and composition are also key factors.

Quick and simple solutions

István Bruzsa
head of sales
Nestlé Professional

Nestlé Professional offers high-quality gastronomic solutions for the HoReCa sector. The convenience product category has a very important role in the company’s offering, as our high-quality products provide quick and simple solutions for consumers, while maintaining quality and taste. Under the Chef brand name the most popular product range is liquid stocks (vegetable, chicken, mushroom or beef), and we have recently introduced Buitoni tomato-based sauces.