The growth driver was the Amigo brand, which Strauss Coffee bought from Brazil’s coffee producer CIA Iguacu de Café Soluvel.
“Excluding Amigo, the company’s sales in domestic currency grew by approximately 11.8% in the first half, while in the second quarter growth was negative (0.6%), compared with the corresponding periods last year,” Strauss Coffee’s second quarter report reads.
The organic growth in sales in local currency in the first half reflected an improvement in the product mix, volume growth and price increases following an increase in the cost of green coffee to the company, along with the strengthening of the US dollar (the currency in which green coffee is purchased) against the Romanian leu, compared with the corresponding period last year.
Strauss Romania, which owns a coffee packaging plant in Bucharest, ended the second quarter with 16.1% higher sales. Leaving the Amigo brand out, the sales actually shrank by 0.6%.
Strauss paid $20 million for trademarks and exclusive rights to use the Amigo recipe in Romania and Bulgaria, thus becoming the sole owner of the brand in the two countries.
The report also says that the VAT cut to 9% for foods and non-alcoholic beverages as of June 1 had an immaterial effect on Strauss Romania’s sales in June.
Strauss Romania posted RON240 million lei revenue, RON5.3 million net profit and had 242 employees last year. Its general manager Marius Melesteu has previously told ZF he expects ‘significant growth’ in revenue this year.
Besides Doncafé and Amigo, Strauss Romania’s brands also include the Fort coffee and some tea brands.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)