The Meinl family owns two large chocolate plants in Romania, Kandia and Heidi, both in Bucharest.
The Meinls entered the Romanian chocolate market in 1997 when they bought a stake in chocolate producer Excelent. In March 2003, they acquired the Kandia brand for EUR5.3 million and sold it four years later to UK company Cadbury. The deal was estimated at EUR100 million.
The Meinls bought back Kandia in 2010 for less than EUR20 million, according to market players. The deal gave rise to more acquisitions and two new brands entered the Austrian group’s portfolio: Primola in November 2011 and Heidi in December 2012.
Kandia representatives said the Austrian group’s business in Romania is the starting point for development in the region. The Meinl group owns chocolate plants only in Romania. Its coffee portfolio is wider, and includes Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Italy, Serbia and Ukraine. In Romania, the group’s coffee business is administered by company Julius Meinl, headquartered in Targu-Secuiesc, Covasna county. The firm registered sales of 24.6 million lei (EUR5.6 million) in 2011 and net profit of RON0.65 million, according to Finance Ministry data.
According to ZF estimations, the local chocolate production covers only 20%-30% of total sales. Chocolate consumption in Romania stands at about 40-45 million kilograms per year, down from over 60 million kg in 2009. Romanians eat five times less chocolate than Germans.
The main players on the Romanian chocolate market, valued at EUR300 million, are Kraft Foods, Mars Romania and Nestlé Romania.
Nestlé Romania, the largest local chocolate producer by turnover, registered sales of EUR157 million in 2011, while the cumulated sales of Kandia-Dulce, Supreme Chocolat and Heidi stood at EUR63 million in 2011, according to Finance Ministry data. (EUR1=RON4.3663)
(English version by Ioana Tudor)