“We are exporting to the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Hungary and have now started to export some to Italy and Greece. Ice cream consumption in Romania is low and we hardly have room for development,” said Vasile Armenean, general manager of the company with EUR19.6 million revenue and almost EUR1 million profit.
A Romanian eats about 1.6 liters of ice cream or 16 ice cream cones a year, almost four times less than a German and five times less than a Scandinavian, according to the data supplied by Unilever, which sells the Algida and Napoca ice cream brands.
“Ice cream used to be available in small quantities before the 1989 hence the lack of frequent consumption habit among Romanians. We hope consumption would rebound with the new generation. This is the main growth driver.”
Betty Ice is one of the largest local ice cream producers, competing with other entrepreneurial businesses like Top Gel Prod of Petre Popa or Alpin 57 Lux of the Istrate family. Other competitors are the multinationals like Unilever and Nestle, which sells JOE, Top Gun, Nirvana and Aloma. The ice cream market is estimated at EUR150 million.
Betty Ice budgeted 15% increase in sales to RON100 million this year, after having seen a decline in 2013. Vasile Armenean has previously said the market did not have a good start to the year, but since the weather has improved, consumption ‘has picked up somewhat’.
The company has more than 100 small ice cream shops throughout the country and four big ones in Sibiu, Oradea, Brasov and Cluj.
Armenean bough a building in Bucharest’s Old Town in 2012 where he will open an ice cream shop. The investment will amount to EUR1 million and includes buying and arranging the 480 square meter space divided on three levels (basement, ground floor and first floor). He is also working on another ice cream shop closer to home in Iasi (NE Romania). Even though he has previously said the shops would open this year, he is now saying the opening will be delayed into next year.
The company has a production facility in Suceava and is one of the largest employers in its industry, having ended 2013 with 669 employees. It said in a questionnaire filled for ZF’s 2014 yearbook on largest players in the economy it expects to have 750 employees this year.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)