La Festa Romania, the producer of Tedi and Duo Fruo natural juices, has invested 1.8 million euros in an instant pudding production line in Valenii de Munte.
"The whole investment was made with the aim in mind of gaining the market leader position with this new product. We believe that in around one year the Bonno brand will be leader in the instant desert market with a market share of between 40 and 50%," said Krysztof Grabowski, general manager of La Festa Romania.
The new pudding brand, Bonno, was launched on the market this autumn and backed by a TV advertising campaign.
The current leader of the Romanian instant pudding market is Dr. Oetker, which owns a plant in Curtea de Arges. Other national brands include Darling and Malita, produced by two Bucharest-based companies. The remaining producers have regional operations only.
Grabowski did not provide an estimate for the value of the Romanian instant pudding market. "The market has seen permanent growth over the last three years and has a high-growth potential, all the more so as consumption per capita in Romania is lower than in other countries," he said.
"The size of the instant deserts market depends to a large extent on the consumption habits of each country," explained Sebastian Nanu, marketing manager at Dr. Oetker. According to the Ministry of Public Finances, Dr. Oetker Romania, a subsidiary of the German Dr. Oetker group, last year had a turnover of around 600 billion ROL (16 million euros).
La Festa is the local subsidiary of the Polish food producer Maspex, one of the few Polish investors in Romania. The company owns a juice factory in Valenii de Munte, Prahova county, in which it has so far invested some 20 million euros and which has 440 employees.
Almost all the brands the company sells in Romania are produced locally: the natural juices Tedi, Duo Fruo, Ciao, Carotella, hot chocolate, cappuccino and "3 in 1", Ekoland and Lemona teas, Brumi granulated cocoa, Van cocoa powder and Coffeeta powdered coffee creamer.
The company's target for annual turnover is 35-40 million euros, equivalent to a growth rate of 40% on last year, said Grabowski.
Last year company turnover reached about 25 million euros. In the first half of this year, Festa grew 26% as compared to the same period last year.
georgiana.stavarache@zf.ro
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