Chipita Romania, the main croissant maker on the Romanian market, decided to increase production capacity, as demand has exceeded supply.
The company will invest seven million dollars in building a plant located near Bucharest, at Clinceni, where it has purchased a 50,000 square-metre land, Georgios Peristeropoulos, general manager of Chipita Romania, told Ziarul Financiar.
Chipita Greece holds a 51% stake in the company, while the other shareholders are the investment funds managed by Global Finance and other private investors.
Chipita Romania registered H1 turnover worth 6 million dollars, up 30% against the year-ago period. Chipita posted sales of 10 million dollars last year, while estimates for 2001 aim at 30% increase, Peristeropoulos claims.
One of the officials of Athens-based parent company several months ago announced the beginning of discussions regarding the acquisition of Best Foods Romania, operating in the same field.
"We are no longer interested in this issue, as Best Foods' production capacity is too small for our current needs," Peristeropoulos commented.
In early 1999, Chipita concluded a 3-year contract for the acquisition of a Star Foods production line, with company technology and brands.
The latest product launched by the company in May is Pokemon croissant, which is already very successful, according to company representatives. Pokemon is a trendy cartoon series.
Chipita paid five million dollars to acquire the production line from Star Foods, which has a capacity of 28,000 boxes (864,000 croissants) daily. The company intends to increase it so that it could reach one million croissants daily by the end of this year, Peristeropoulos said.
"Our offer comprises 15 ranges of croissants. We are currently market leaders, with a share of about 60%, maybe more. Even so, it is certain that demand is higher than the supply," Peristeropoulos says.
The other players from the market are Best Foods and Star Foods. Chipita Romania exports to the Republic of Moldova and Bulgaria increased from 15% last year to 30% of the output.
Chipita started operating in 1973 in Greece, by producing salty snacks. Foreign analysts deemed the business as a genuine boom in this country.
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