Meat products company Caroli concluded last year with sales of 55 million dollars (42 million euros), a 75% increase on 2003. The upward trend continued during the first quarter of this year with growth reaching 45%. "We invested heavily in marketing last year and expanded our distribution. Price remains the main driving force behind sales of processed meats, and the market can only grow over the coming years because Romanians - despite eating a lot of processed meats - still buy much less than their European counterparts," said Talal El Sohl, Caroli chairman and shareholder. He says he invested 3.8 million euros (rate card) in 2004 in promoting Caroli products. Last year the company invested 4 million euros in upgrading its production facility in Pitesti and will allocate a further 4.5 million euros to investments this year. "As a result of these investments we hope to become certified for exports to EU markets. We do not have any acquisition plans for this year, but might buy something from the market in the future," Talal said. Early last year in a deal valued at several hundred thousand euros, Caroli took over the Gourmet brand together with some equipment from an Austrian investor that later re-entered the meat business, investing in a semi-cooked food facility. ZF
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