Processed Meat and Seafood in Slovakia

PROSPECTS

Imported meat scandal gives local players a boost, higher quality products increasingly important

Country of origin plays a particularly important role in terms of influencing consumer purchasing decisions when buying meat. January 2019 saw another major incident involving imported meat in Slovakia: in this instance meat from sick cows was sold to Slovak consumers, creating a wave of outrage.

Foodservice and convenience benefit from consumers’ rising incomes, impacting home food preparation

Slovaks demonstrated an increasing preference to eat out in 2019, resulting in the foodservice industry noticeably outpacing retail sales growth of processed meat and seafood. Strengthening consumer purchasing power, stable jobs, and the lowest expected unemployment rate in Slovakia’s history, may further bolster spending on food from restaurants and home-delivery options in coming years.

Premiumisation evident in chilled and traditional products

Chilled processed meat for grilling gains popularity as increasing demand for convenience and an expanding product assortment drive sales. Numerous product launches and extensions were introduced in 2019, most of which featured premiumisation in the form of high meat content.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Companies merge to optimise costs and increase efficiency

2019 saw Hamé Slovakia sro and Vitana merged into a single business entity – Orkla Food Cesko a Slovensko – which is to be based in the Czech Republic. This will result in cost optimisations and greater efficiency.

Patriotism and retailer demand set to boost local producers’ performance

Hyza, a major local manufacturer of poultry meat, invested in considerably expanding its production facilities in 2018. This was thanks to the rising popularity of local poultry meat, as well as improving export opportunities in future.

Private label products prove increasingly popular, but face competition from branded manufacturers

Private label products saw a further value share gain in processed meat and seafood in 2018, thanks to growing demand for higher-quality and locally sourced processed meat. Retailers invested heavily in brand perception, with a strong focus on freshness, and this is likely to continue in 2019.

Files are delivered directly into your account within a few minutes of purchase.