Before and after the high season

Izabella Kowalska, category manager of Essity Hungary Kft.:

Izabella Kowalska
category manager
Essity Hungary

“The facial tissue category is very much seasonal, as sales surge in the November-January flu season and in the spring-summer allergy season”.

There is some kind of seasonality in the kitchen roll category as well. High seasons include the big spring and autumn clean, the summer barbecue season, and the great cooking period before Easter and Christmas.

Recyclable packaging

Zewa, being the market leader brand, contributes to the development of the whole category.

Réka Forgách
brand manager
Essity Hungary

Réka Forgách, brand manager of Essity Hungary Kft.:

“In the kitchen roll category the Jumbo segment is the most important. Since March a brand new Zewa collection has been available in shops, called Blossom Moments. This spring-summer limited edition product range evokes the blossoming of the Japanese cherry tree. Kitchen roll and facial tissue in large cellophane wrap, carton box and small cellophane wrap formats make up the new collection”.

Zewa pays special attention to purchase raw materials from responsible sources and to use recyclable packaging.

Orsolya Varga
marketing manager
Vajda-Papír

Orsolya Varga, marketing manager of Vajda-Papír Kft.:

“The 2-ply and 2-roll format continues its reign in the kitchen roll segment. In addition to this, 1-roll products are also performing well. Typically they have more sheets, so in terms of value share these products are nearly as important as the 2-roll format”.

Sustainable and responsible

Vajda-Papír’s facial tissue products have a 10% market share in value, which makes it the second biggest branded product, while the company’s kitchen roll has a 12% value share and with this it is the market leader. The products are made from pulp sourced from FSC®-certified responsible forest management. As for the packaging, they are made from 100% recycled plastic. Vajda-Papír’s latest product is the 3-ply, 4-roll Excellence kitchen roll.

Paper production is characterised by high energy use, so 2022 was a very difficult year for European manufacturers.

Gábor Vizur, category manager of Sofidel Hungary Kft.:

Gábor Vizur
category manager
Sofidel Hungary

“Production costs soared due to the negative economic environment, and this was manifested in product prices too. Generally speaking, we can say that the prices of household paper products grew by double-digit numbers”.

The paper industry is one of the most energy-intensive industries, and the energy crisis has posed a particular challenge for manufacturers

Quality, price and environmental protection

Value sales of Sofidel Hungary Kft. increased as much as the category’s average, while volume sales developed above the market average by more than 10%. In the Regina portfolio 2-roll products dominate, especially the custom printed Regina XXL and Regina Strong kitchen rolls. With every new product launched, the company uses 30% or 60% recycled plastic for the packaging.

In facial tissue sales discounters are the No.1 place for buying, followed by drugstores and hypermarkets. These three channels are the most important in kitchen roll sales too.

Attila Gerencsér
FMCG business unit manager
Carboferr

Attila Gerencsér, FMCG business unit manager of Carboferr Zrt.:

“When there is a recession, shoppers try to find cheaper alternatives, hoping to spend less money. In a market environment like this, brand loyalty weakens and this favours private label and lower-category products”.

Being different and offering something new

For years now the Renova brand has been investing a lot of money to make production more sustainable, and last year they also built a new biomass power plant. Renova’s mission is to bring something new, a feel, a scent and a colour into the daily lives of consumers. The brand focuses on Red Label XL kitchen roll – which is available in many colours – and design products. These attract non-regular kitchen roll buyers to the category, because they have the extra function of being decorative. They are able to generate impulse purchases, as the products are thematic and related to promotions limited in time and stock – explained Attila Gerencsér.

In addition to price/value choices, buyers’ expectations of quality have also increased

Sándor Gödri
sales director
Metsä Tissue HU

Sándor Gödri, sales director of Metsa Tissue HU Kft.:

“In addition to choosing which product to purchase based on price-value ratio, shoppers also demand better quality than before”.

The sales director added that now, when prices are skyrocketing, it is likely that many consumers have started to use textile dishcloths again.

Good prices and sustainability

Sales of Metsa Tissue have increased in both value and volume recently. From the company’s kitchen rolls 1-roll, 3-ply Complex, 1-roll, 2-ply Universal XXL, and 2-roll, 3-ply Strong and Kitchen products are the most popular. Recently they have introduced the 2-roll, 2-ply maxi kitchen roll Tento Family Extra Long to market, targeting price-sensitive consumers.

Omar Balducci
sales manager
Lucart Group

Professional buyers are increasingly sensitive to purchasing paper products that are sustainable and represent high quality.

Omar Balducci, sales manager of Lucart Kft.:

“We were the first company in Italy to launch a hygiene paper product range made from recycled paper, in biodegradable “Mater-Bi” packaging”.

This year Lucart will come out with the latest Identity dispenser, which features a motion sensor and works with 5 different types of Lucart paper towel. //

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2023/5