ROMANIA: JDE’s plans with the new premium brand launched in modern retail | Progresiv
Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE), the world's largest coffee player, has recently introduced the premium L'OR brand on the local market, with products being listed in major retail chains since October. 
"Since 2015, with the birth of Jacobs Douwe Egberts, L'OR has become the premium proposal of the company and has begun global expansion, being a brand born in 1992 in France. With regard to its distribution, like every other product we strive to reach all consumers in order to offer them the opportunity to enjoy high-quality coffee. Given premium positioning, we focus our attention on modern business customers", said to Progresiv Liviu Mosnegutu, Brand Manager at JDE.
Asked by what the new brand distinguishes from the competition, the company's representative pointed out: "We are talking about an extended portfolio with branches in the most important coffee categories: roasted and ground coffee, soluble coffee, coffee beans and Tassimo coffee capsules. L'OR products benefit from a special package that integrates AROMA LOCK ™ innovation, a new packaging technology that retains fresher flavor and the refined taste of coffee for a long time in a non-vacuum package".
With the new brand, JDE aims for the first year to increase brand awareness as much as possible and to get as many consumers as possible to try the products, and at sales level, the company's representative did not provide concrete figures, but said "expectations are in line with premium product positioning".
Regarding the company's progress this year, Liviu Mosnegutu stated that "2017 is a good year for Jacobs Douwe Egberts Romania, reflecting the positive macroeconomic evolution and our strategic investments. Here are worth mentioning some key results such as getting market leader position in the coffee mix category (3in1), excellent results obtained after the launch of the coffee bean portfolio - also the number one brand in the category starting July, while in the coffee capsule segment we see growth above market level with our Tassimo brand ".
The company official also notes that coffee consumption levels in Romania are still low, at 2.2 kg / household / year, according to Euromonitor estimates for 2017. "Compared to other Eastern European countries, coffee consumption in Romania is among the lowest, which shows us that there are enough opportunities for growth, on the other hand, the penetration of the coffee category is high - about 90%. So, bringing new innovative products and developing new segments in the coffee category is part of our strategy to increase the market and coffee consumption", Mosnegutu added.
The JDE representative also notes that global and local trends indicate a premium trend for the coffee market: "Consumers are increasingly looking for products that better meet their needs, and from what we see, the quality of the ingredients used and the high quality standards are the main attributes consumers are looking at when they buy premium products."
Mondelēz International and D.E Master Blenders coffee business merged in July 2015, Jacobs Douwe Egberts, the newly formed company, becoming the world's largest player concentrating exclusively on coffee. This move brought some of the strongest international brands such as Jacobs, Kenco, Tassimo, Douwe Egberts, Senseo or Pilão under the same umbrella. Also, Romania has since become the hub of the JDE operations for the South Eastern Central Europe region, alongside Bulgaria and Greece.
