Sió: the fruit of 30 years

Sió has come a long way in the past 30 years to become the market leader. In 1977 there were no marketing and markets research people to survey consumer needs and develop brands yet. It was the manufacturer who wanted to “see what we can do with this thing”. Sió for example, was born under a lucky constellation to utilise fruit produced in co-operative and state farms in the south-Dunántúl region. MÁV with the intention of widening the assortment of its catering business with a practical, easy to transport fruit drink, signed a contract with the new company and Sio fruit drink in aluminium pouches was born. MÁV became a willing and excellent nation-wide distributor. ECKES AG bought Sió in 1993. The German group brought brands like Granini and Hohes C with it. ECKES however brought a brand a not production capacity. As this was the first foreign investment made by the group, a strong domestic brand looked attractive, especially as their own brands could not be expected to achieve a large market share. They started by building a good sales team with Opel Astras. Systematic brand building and communication based on the expertise brought by ECKES begun.
The Sió brand message is a bit nostalgic but adequate, focusing on local attachments. Communication focused on fruits is a limit of expansion into other categories and Sió is no longer trying. Last year they abandoned Sió ice Tea. The market is moving towards mixed flavours and functionality. This lead to sub-brands being established. Vitatigris is for children, while “Könnyű és Zamatos” is for weight watchers. Nectars with a higher fruit content are presented in the Sió Prémium range. Sió Drinx in half litre PET bottles is for active children, while the one and a half litre bottle is a family size package The recent period was devoted to innovation in packaging. One litre products received distinct, easily recognisable packaging and products for the HoReCa segment will also get a new appearance soon. Of course new flavours are also introduced, like for Sió Prémium Nectars at the beginning of this year. This year is basically about the 30th anniversary – says Katalin Zarándy. The five oldest and most popular Sió flavours will appear in limited edition packaging and there will also be a competition for children in secondary school about the history of Sió. Objects, products and advertisements related to Sió will be on display in Millenáris Teátrum at the Sió Retro exhibition opening on 6. June. A beauty contest will also be held under the name SIÓ Miss Balaton for ladies born in 1977. More info from : www.sioeckes.hu