ROMANIA: Hochland reported 20% higher business in 2017 | Progresiv
Cheese producer Hochland reported a turnover increase of 20% last year compared to 2016, to 338.2 million lei, while profit showed a slight decrease, reflecting the company's decision to avoid price increases (especially the cost of raw materials), Andreea Marincescu, Marketing Manager Hochland Romania, told Progresiv. 
The company ended 2016 with a profit of 31.2 million lei, according to data provided by the Ministry of Finance.
"Strong brands have gained ground in front of private label, and this has happened in the context of increased consumption and revenue, which has led people to choose quality instead of the lowest price. In Hochland, we believe that the factors that weighed the most are market investments that support promotional activities, contests or price reductions, but also high visibility in stores. We refer to campaigns like Hochland invites you to the Disney / Pixar world! or Sandvis Fest. On the other hand, the solid partnerships we have with milk suppliers have been and will be particularly important from this point of view", Andreea Marincescu said.
The categories with the best dynamics in 2017 were cheese - especially the packed cheese segment, cheese creams, where Hochland is market leader with the Almette brand - and sliced cheeses (Hochland operates in this category with Cascavalul Felii Hochland (Sliced Cheese), the segment leader).
For this year, the company is targeting investments towards brand development, and expanding its portfolio by launching new products. A first example is Almette with radishes, launched this year.
Among the challenges mentioned by Andreea Marincescu for 2018 is the decrease in cheese consumption. "Since mid-2015, with the fall in VAT, a revival in consumption has been generated, accelerated by falling commodity prices and rising incomes. Thus, the category of cheese - like other categories in the food market - had a very good evolution until the end of 2017. The last months, however, have led to decreases in cheese consumption and price increases", the Marketing Director added.
To this is added the need to reinvent the communication strategy, namely the availability and price of raw materials.
"In 2018, the market will grow in value, but not in volume. New, modern, value-added categories will continue to grow and the cheese shelf will offer more and more variety. At the same time, consumers will be more and more open to trying new, niche, sophisticated products, leading to a fragmentation of the category", added Andreea Marincescu.
Hochland owns two production units locally - Sighisoara and Sovata - and an average number of 358 employees.
