Competing kitchen rolls

Colourful communication

“As consumers increasingly seek sustainability, product benefits such as the possibility to tear the sheets into halves are becoming important. Zewa Premium Flexisheets is a product that offers exactly this, adapting to the size of the dirt and thanks to this being an economical and environmentally friendly solution”,

informs Réka Forgách, brand manager of Essity Hungary Kft.

Kitchen rolls will be in the spotlight at the company this year. As part of their 360-degree communication strategy, the category will be promoted with TV, online and social media ads, a nationwide prize draw, in-store communication and extensive sample distribution. Orsolya Varga, marketing manager of Vajda-Papír Kft. told our magazine that the majority of paper towel products are still purchased in discount supermarkets, as the channel has a 38% value and a 36% volume share.

“Hypermarkets are also important in the category, with a 19% value share. Drugstores perform well too, with a value share of 14%”,

adds the marketing manager.

The biggest paper weight

Vajda-Papír’s production costs have increased by more than 100% since September 2021. The market share of the company’s kitchen roll brands was 14.4% in 2023, up 1.7 percentage points from a year earlier, and their volume share was 14.8% last year, 2.8 percentage points more than in 2022. In product development they pay special attention to sustainable and responsible production. They use pulp from FSC®-certified responsible forest management and other controlled sources. Ooops! Maxi paper towel is the most popular single-roll product in the category among branded products, and the 500-sheet kitchen roll has the biggest net paper weight per unit, in recyclable packaging with the lowest possible weight.

Only this big, but how big!

Attila Kecskeméti, chief operating officer of Magyar Piszke Papír Kft. points out that the biggest challenge for the sector in 2024 is the more than 30% increase in raw material prices, mainly caused by global market factors.

New product range

Magyar Piszke Papír Kft. has seen a strong growth in the boxed, shrink wrap free product range, as sales doubled if compared to the previous year’s performance. This seems to be an area that requires a lot of communication to attract consumers, but if the trial stage is reached, there is a very high proportion of returning customers who appreciate the environmentally friendly approach, alongside the excellent value for money and quality. The company was the first in the Hungarian market to launch boxed, shrink wrap free, high quality Crepto toilet paper in 2019, which was unique at a European level too. Since then two types of paper towels, facial tissues and napkins have come out in the same format.

This year the plan is to become more popular

Sales of Sofidel Hungary Kft.’s Regina brand have grown in value and volume alike if compared to the same period last year. Regina produced a volume sales jump of 20.2%, further strengthening its market position.

A competitive environment full of challenges

Attila Gerencsér, business unit manager of Carboferr Zrt. (they represent the RENOVA brand) calls attention to the fact that fluctuations in the cost and availability of raw materials such as wood pulp and recycled fibres can have a big influence on the profitability of household paper product manufacturers.

“Market saturation in some segments – such as toilet paper and paper towel – is strengthening competition, which leads to a price pressure”,

explains the business unit manager.

For years Renova has been committed to sustainable production and reducing packaging materials. In this spirit they have put a new product range on the market, called Love&Action, made from 80% recycled cardboard. Renova XXL, Design and Red Label coloured 1-roll kitchen towels are able to encourage impulse buying, as they are thematic – this year a new XXL edition will hit the shops before the UEFA 2024 football tournament.

Regional expansion

As a forest owner Metsa Group plants four saplings for every tree felled.

Trend-setting innovations

Lucart offers a wide range of solutions, including the “Texicell” exclusive Airlaid range, which uses air instead of water in the production process of pure cellulose fibres, giving products exceptional absorbency and strength even when wet.

Omar Balducci, sales director of Lucart Kft.:

“In 2023 our sales grew by around 24% compared to 2022, with outstanding growth in our most innovative product lines, for instance EcoNatural and IDENTITY. The demand for certified products is growing significantly. This is why it is important that our products are certified by official bodies such as Ecolabel, FSC or Cradle to Cradle”. //