Peter Muller, the general manager of Kraft Foods Romania, the biggest player on the chocolate and coffee market, says he decided to re-launch Poiana chocolate since Romanian consumers are becoming increasingly more demanding as their incomes go up.
Kraft Foods Romania has recently re-launched Poiana chocolate by changing its package and recipe. "The only things we've left unchanged in the case of Poiana are the name and logo due to their tradition on the Romanian market," explains Peter Muller, who has been the general manager of Kraft Foods Romania for about a year and a half. He believes Romanians are very open to new things and they are becoming increasingly demanding as their incomes rise.
"The first thing I did when I arrived in Romania was to study the market and consumers, for 2 or 3 months. I did not rush to make decisions. The only constant thing on the Romanian market is the need for changes. This is primarily generated by consumers and secondly by the increasingly tougher competition," says Muller.
Research done by Kraft was also related to the coffee market.
"On the domestic coffee market, there is a trend to go for packaged products, which are of higher quality because they retain the coffee flavour for a longer period of time," maintains Muller.
Through the Nova Brasilia brand, manufactured domestically jointly with Supreme group, Kraft Foods also targets consumers of loose coffee, to lure them toward the segment of packaged coffee.
Kraft Foods has in its portfolio the best selling coffee brand domestically, Jacobs Kronung. Unlike Nova Brasilia, Jacobs Kronung is imported and placed on the upper price segment. The company's price policy aims to cover all price segments, both on the coffee and chocolate markets.
Under the circumstances, the company's sales have been rising each year, driven by both the market growth and the considerable investments in promotion campaigns.
Austrian-born Peter Muller took the reigns of Kraft Foods Romania after having coordinated the operations of the group in SE Europe for several years. As an employee of the international unit of Kraft Foods, he was also involved in the project related to the acquisition of Poiana Produse Zaharoase of Brasov, in 1994. The state at the time decided to privatise the company and 82% in it were sold to the US group for some 4.4 million euros, according to available information.
Currently, the production facility is undergoing a cost-cutting process. The plant exports to several countries in Europe.
In terms of distribution, a key element in the company's strategy is the availability of products in as many outlets as possible. The company now has 17 partner distributors and covers over 40,000 outlets.
Chocolate and coffee markets
At present, the chocolate market is estimated to be worth more than 130 million euros
Has a high growth potential generated by consumers' rising incomes
The segment of chocolate bars is one of the most dynamic segments of the market, with annual increases of some 25% per annum
Coffee consumption is currently harmed by the high level of excises
The coffee market is put at approximately 100m euros annually
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