Stalinskaya’s producer estimates a 25% increase in its 2008 business

“Both the leading Stalinskaya and Wembly brands and the less expensive Saniuta, Drobeta and Max brands have contributed to the 25 percent increase,” Florin Radulescu, General Manager of Prodal ’94, told Business Standard.

According to Radulescu, in 2008 the company registered significant increases in all three categories in which the company is operating (vodka, gin, and brandy), but most important was the growth registered on the vodka segment, where it is already market leader with its Stalinskaya brand, with a 31 percent market share.

The value of the alcoholic drinks market on which Prodal is operating exceeds €300 million, said Radulescu. The company’s main competitors include Scandic Distilleries, Alexandrion, and Euroavipo.

Before 2007, the year in which Romania joined the European Union, the local alcoholic drinks market underwent a transformation process, mainly due to massive price rises, brought about by a rise in excise taxes to a level stipulated by the EU, and the sin tax. This led to a drop in consumption of alcoholic drinks and to changes in the structure of market segments. After 2007, changes targeted consumption habits, fuelled mostly by the rapid expansion in recent years of modern retail.