New player enters pasta market in Poland

2010-09-07

Podravka, a producer of spices and sauces, has introduced pastas on the Polish market. Since the beginning of September, the pastas have been available at small stores and large retail chains around the country. The new products will compete on price with available pastas, although the producer has not disclosed the market share which it hopes to reach in Poland.
The Polish pasta market, worth PLN 645m (€161m), is very fragmented. There are around 100 manufacturers operating in Poland, although only a few producers operate all over the country. The Lubella pasta brand, which belongs to the Maspex group, leads the field, with a 24% market share in terms of volume, whereas Makarony Polskie is the runner-up, controlling 5.4% of the market. The latter producer also expects to develop on the Polish market, focusing on high margin brand products. At present, production under a private label name accounts for 70% of Makarony Polskie’s revenues. However, by 2012 branded pastas should account for 50% of the company’s sales revenues.
Industry representatives expect the pasta market to continue to grow in Poland by between 3-7% per year. At present, Poles consume around 4 kilos of pasta per capita per year, whereas per capita annual average European consumption is 10 kilos.