The acquisition of Kandia-Excelent by British company Cadbury, estimated at 600m euros, was the most important event on the confectionery and snacks market last year.
After the arrival of Cadbury on the domestic market, multinationals remain the main contenders in the battle for the top market positions.
This year, Kraft Foods boldly entered what is a new segment for the company- biscuits, but sees opportunities to enter new categories on the market of sweet snacks.
Kraft took over the biscuit unit from French group Danone (brands such as LU and Prince) in an international transaction. In the wake of this takeover, the company wants to gain a foothold on the biscuit segment in Romania, after having secured the leading position on the chocolate and coffee markets.
Peter Muller, general manager of Kraft Foods Romania, puts the snacks market (not including chocolate products) at 400 million euros, and sees growth potential for new categories, as well as for rising consumption per capita. Chocolate is also an insufficiently developed market segment compared with the European average consumption. In 2006, the Romanian market held one of the four lowest positions in the EU, with annual consumption of 1.9 kg per capita. Overall, the Romanian chocolate market could be put at 200m euros in 2007, whilst players currently include international companies such as Kraft, Cadbury and Heidi Chocolat Suisse, as well as a strong domestic company, Supreme Chocolat.
Multinationals are a long way ahead in the biggest players' ranking on the segment of sugar-based products, such as drops, jellies and chewing gum.
The biggest merger in the global confectionery industry, resulted in the wake of Wrigley's takeover by Mars, will create a company with turnover worth above 100m euros domestically, a big threat for Cadbury or Perfetti Van Malle. The deal is due to be finalised in the first half of 2009.
Wrigley is also betting on the rapidly rising consumption of sugary products in Romania. Mihai Georgescu, general manager of Wrigley Romania, forecasts the domestic boiled sweets market will triple in the next 5-10 years and match the chewing gum market, put at over 50m euros.
Domestically, annual chewing gum consumption reached 72 sticks per capita last year, compared with around 200 sticks per capita in Western Europe. The gap is largely accounted for by the low consumption in rural areas.
Instead, coffee, another segment where Romanian consumption per capita was half the European average in 2006, last year registered growth rates of up to 11% year-on-year.
The coffee market is put at 150-200m euros.
Another category, salted snacks, is losing momentum as consumers move to healthier products. As a result, companies will now attempt to make innovative moves.
Sweets and snacks market
The acquisition of Kandia-Excelent by British company Cadbury, estimated at 600m euros, was the most important event on the confectionery and snacks market last year
After the arrival of Cadbury on the domestic market, multinationals remain the main contenders in the battle for the top market positions
Wrigley, as well as its rivals, will count on the rapidly rising consumption of sugar-based products in Romania
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