For 2009, the company’s General Manager, Sotiris Yanopoulos, told Business Standard he expects a moderate growth pace of this market segment, due to the economic recession. In terms of net sales, he estimates a growth rate at least similar to that registered in 2008.
“The market will rise, but not at the same pace registered in past years. We will no longer witness 30-40 percent growth rates. We are fortunate that our business is in the food sector. It is possible that some small producers will not manage very well this year, which is expected to be difficult,” said Yanopoulos.
The chips and snack market exceeds 25,000 tons annually, of which almost half is produced by Star Foods, according to company officials. The value of the total salty and sweet snack market will amount to €200 million, according to market data, with chips being the most important segment, with over €100 mln. The top five snack producers on the domestic market are Star Foods, European Foods, Phoenix, Standard&Snacks, and Chio Romania, which together have an 80.8 percent market share, according to a study by the MEMRB market research company.
