Dragos Militaru, the man who integrated local producer Dorna within Coca-Cola and launched the company's first vending machines on the Romanian market, says Romania is among the top 10 contributors to Coca-Cola's global growth.
Whereas 2007 was an excellent year for the soft drinks industry, this year has seen more modest rises on the market, but the Coca-Cola Company manager believes there is no reason to be less optimistic.
"For the time being, I have noticed an overall reduction in consumption, generated by macroeconomic factors," says Dragos Militaru, who cites the pressure put on Romanians' budgets by the global financial crisis and the price increases on utilities and food as contributing factors.
"Even under such circumstances, Romania is a growing market (i.e. the non-alcoholic drinks market). What differs from last year is the growth rate," he specifies.
The impact of these changes on the market varies from one economic sector to the next, with companies on the soft drinks market being less easily affected, because they offer products that consumers are more reluctant to give up.
"Our industry is somewhat privileged; we sell products that address everybody; everyone can afford to buy Coca-Cola or mineral water," explains Militaru.
The rise in consumption of non-alcoholic drinks on the Romanian market and the introduction of new segments, such as ice tea or sports drinks, have brought average annual increases of 30-40% for the top ten companies on the market, according to data reported to the Ministry of Finance.
Coca-Cola HBC Romania, the local bottler of Coca-Cola Company products, registered a 7-year high in 2007 in terms of growth rate of sales volumes, up by 23% (against 2006).
Therefore, the company exceeded the one billion-litre mark in terms of annual sales last year, after it reported turnover worth 515.8 million euros. In the above-mentioned period, the bottler's growth rate in terms of value stood at 40%.
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