Traditions and trends

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2024/8-9

Traditional or modern

In the global market consumer habits are transforming dynamically during the festive season. Consumers are favouring organic, bio and sustainably sourced ingredients. Manufacturers and distributors need to react without delay and deliver products that meet the demands of a healthy lifestyle and an environmentally friendly approach. When it comes to Christmas cooking, in Hungary many families stick to classic dishes, but more and more people are trying new, more unusual flavours and techniques.

A karácsonyi szezon ideális alkalom új termékek és csomagolások bevezetésére

100 years in Hungary

The winter holiday is traditionally the busiest season for baking ingredients. Last year was characterised by sharp price rises in this category too.

Dénes Kiss
marketing manager
Dr. Oetker Magyarország

“Demand for baking powder, vanillin sugar, yeast and other home baking categories exceeded the level of previous years. The sales increase wasn’t only due to higher prices, as we also saw volume growth”,

says Dénes Kiss, marketing manager of Dr. Oetker Magyarország Élelmiszer Kft.

He also reveals that although private label products have gained ground because of price sensitive consumers, Dr. Oetker’s baking supplies were still among the most popular in 2023.

The fact that Dr. Oetker is one of these classic brands is illustrated by the fact that in 2024 the company celebrates 100 years in Hungary – Dr. Oetker Pudding and Baking Powder will also be available in retro packaging!

Consumers are increasingly open towards exotic spices, special ingredients and new recipes

A strong end-of-year performance is important

Noémi Papp-Mile, brand manager of Foodnet Zrt. reports that in December 2023 the butter market was the complete opposite of the same period in 2022:

Noémi Papp-Mile
brand manager
Foodnet

 volume sales soared by 26%, but value sales took a 14% dive. Demand for quality food is growing year after year, but this trend has been overshadowed by last year’s record inflation, which has made life difficult for premium category products. “Shoppers are willing to spend more on baking and cooking at Christmas, and they switch to exclusive products in this period. This is why it is important for us to reach as many customers as possible, who can try Lurpak, a premium product at an affordable price”, she adds.

Successful flour mixes

Melinda Dorogi
managing director
Celldömölki Malom

Melinda Dorogi, the CEO of Celldömölki Mill says last Christmas was characterised by subdued shopping, with high inflation bringing significant price increases that led to much lower consumption. “Our 1kg flour mixes, which can be used to make 2x700g loaves of bread/sweet bread, can help shoppers make the right buying decision in this year’s festive season. These flour mixes are made exclusively from natural domestic ingredients, they are high quality, and can be prepared in the oven or bread machine”, informs Melinda Dorogi. Celldömölk Mill’s flour mixes have been a big hit among shoppers and interest in the company’s special flours hasn’t diminished either. In 2024 they plan to add new flour mixes to the product portfolio.

Since the pandemic, it has become fashionable to make your own baked goods at home, from which the end-of-year season is no exception

Convenience solutions

Tamás Mezei 
head of quality management
Natur-Food

The peak period for selling dried fruit, nuts and oilseeds is the last 2-3 weeks of the year.

“The Hungarian market is very price-sensitive, so we expect that customers will be more interested in promotional or low-value products. We hope that they will be spending a little more bravely after the hardships of 2023”,

says Tamás Mezei, head of quality management at Natur-Food Kft.

Dried fruits and nuts are the most popular products for baking from the large Natur-Food Kft. portfolio. They also offer convenience solutions: ready-to-use mixes developed based on decades of experience, which satisfy as many consumer tastes as possible. Recently they have also launched user-friendly cooking ingredients such as raisins, pumpkin seeds and cashew nuts in completely new packaging; further design innovations are also on the agenda.

The autumn-winter season for dried fruits is shorter than before, thus more concentrated

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