“Our target this year is to double our turnover. We are in the happy and atypical situation of having boosted our turnover greatly thanks to the acquisition of Alka’s seeds and nuts division, after a 2010 that was similar to 2009,” says Cristian Rey, who runs the Romanian operations of Intersnack, where he has worked for over 13 years.
In one of his few press interviews, he explains that the decision to acquire Nutline, which in 2009 had sales of EUR20-25 million, according to ZF estimates, came from the company’s head office in Germany. Rey says in Western Europe seeds are not very popular, but in Southern Europe, as well as in Central and Eastern Europe, the situation is completely different. The Romanian nuts and seeds market is worth EUR89 million this year, according to Intersnack estimates, similar to 2010. The Romanian market is one of Europe’s largest.
The Intersnack group currently has three production facilities: one in Brasov, where it produces chips, one in Bucharest for nuts and seeds and one in Filipestii de Padure, where it produces seeds.
“We make all the products in our portfolio in Romania, apart from baked products and microwave popcorn, which are produced in Hungary. These product categories were never produced in Romania. In Brasov we produce popcorn, but only ready-to-eat.”
Rey does not rule out the possibility of further acquisitions in the future, but for the time being he focuses on integrating Nutline into Intersnack.
He says he has been expecting growth in the last two or three years, but the economic situation has not helped his plans, as the savory snacks market has at best stagnated. On this segment, valued at EUR44 million, the company’s main rival is StarFoods (held by PepsiCo), through its Lays brand.
The salty snacks market was significantly affected by the financial crisis, as people were more inclined to give up snacks than more basic food.
“In 2009 and 2010, markets fell as consumption declined. The savory snacks segment was seriously affected because people tend to give these products up quite readily when times are tough. In the first half of the year the decline stopped. But the summer is below expectations.”
(English version by Daniela Stoican; Editing by Radu Bostan)