Magazine: Nicely developing cheese market

Carlo Volpe
managing director
Óvártej

Usually the price of cheese follows the movement of milk’s price, and this has made the market rather hectic recently. According to Carlo Volpe, managing director of Óvártej Zrt., there are also other factors that influence cheese prices, and often it is very difficult to tell which of these affect the market in a given period. Last year prices were rising, therefore volumes sales didn’t increase. Mária Tell-Prantner, brand manager of FrieslandCampina Hungária ZRt. told our magazine that Trappist-type cheeses are slowly losing their dominance, while sales of the Gouda, Edam and Emmental varieties are growing. This trend is the result of new players, such as premium Dutch brand Frico, entering the market, and it also has to do with the expansion of the discount supermarket channel.

Andrea Gábor
marketing director
Pannontej

Andrea Gábor, marketing director of Pannontej Zrt. revealed that in the first three months of the year the cheese market produced a moderate growth.

Sándor Nagy
commercial director
Szarvasi Mozarella

Nagy Sándor, commercial director of Szarvasi Mozarella Kft. informed us that the appearance of surplus milk in the market can already be felt – prices are expected to reduce in the months to come. Adrián Andrejszki, sales director of Chef Market shared the company’s experiences with us: there has been no decrease in cheese consumption, but a market restructuring is definitely taking place.

Ms Gábor shared the news with us that to a certain extent the deli counter is losing its significance in sales. Buyers have also started preferring discount supermarkets when buying cheese. Thanks to this, volume sales of private label cheese products are growing by two-digit numbers. This is the reason why Pannontej Zrt. has decided to put lots of work into brand building. In the field of innovation the marketing director senses the growing importance of lactose-free products and the grill category. Since the market is going in the convenience direction, the company put two new brands on the market in this category. In the grill segment they will build the portfolio along the lines of Karaván and Tihany products. Flagship brand Medve receives strong marketing support this year.

Ms Tell-Prantner told our magazine that last year the Frico brand performed 33 percent better in volume and 43 percent better in value than in the previous year. Under the Frico brand FrieslandCampina Hungária ZRt. sells a wide range of products, from mild and soft Gouda or Edam products to more characteristic smoked cheese or Chevrette goat cheese. Frico is a new brand in the Hungarian market, so the company is investing lots of money in familiarising customers with products and giving shoppers a chance to try them.

Mr Volpe stressed that the cheese market is turning more dynamic. The managing director of Óvártej Zrt. told Trade magazin that the three keywords in the market are health, originality and diversity. Because of the growing purchasing power of Hungarians, shoppers have started buying cheese varieties that used to belong to the ‘niche’ category. Proust ‘madeleine’ is the perfect example for cheese that offers a memorable experience to consumers. Óvártej Zrt.’s Mamma Mia mozzarella will hit the HoReCa sector this summer.

Zsuzsanna Mastalli
managing director
SIRENUSE

PR agency SIRENUSE does the communication and PR tasks of the company, and the agency’s managing director Zsuzsanna Mastalli firmly believes in the marketing power of being original – in the next two years innovative online and social media campaigns can be expected.

Szarvasi Mozarella Kft. has always made great efforts in the area of brand building and in popularising Italian-type fresh cheese varieties in Hungary. Recently they have started working with a new communication agency.

Mr Andrejszki reported to our magazine that Chef Market’s experience is that the same trends prevail in the HoReCa sector and grocery retail. For instance Trappist is still the most popular cheese variety in both channels. However, sales of Edam, Camembert and Gouda products are growing by nearly two-digit numbers. The sales director opined that demand is increasing for plant-based cheese products; the production costs of these are much lower than that of cheese made from milk. As regards product size, the popularity of small-sized cheeses is growing. Chef Market keeps monitoring the latest international and domestic trends, and the company imports more and more premium products, e.g. goat cheese, grill products, ready-to-eat products that can be consumed as a main dish. //