“Heidi chocolates currently have a 6.5 percent market share, and we estimate that next year we will cover some eight percent of the Romanian chocolate market,” Heidi Romania’s Marketing Manager, Massimo Palumbo, told Business Standard.
According to Palumbo, the low chocolate segment will disappear from the market in the next ten years, and the private label segment, such as Aro and Clever, will increase considerably. Furthermore, new players will enter the market with internationally renowned brands, says the Heidi official. The Romanian chocolate market, including tablets, pralines, and bars, is valuated at an approximate annual €120 million.
The main competitors on the domestic chocolate market are Kraft Foods Romania, Heidi Chocolats Suisse, Kandia-Excelent and Supreme Chocolat. Heidi is the first foreign chocolate producer to enter the Romanian market in 1994. The company started domestic production with a selection of chocolate cream with hazelnuts and chocolate with whole caramelized hazelnuts.
Last year, Heidi Romania had total business amounting to €8.6 million, up 26 percent from 2005 figures, following the reintroduction of premium assortments in the product portfolio. The company is well known for its premium products and has extended its business into the deluxe segment, with Heidi Dark, Heidi Creamy and Heidi Grand’Or brands.
