Gerbrant de Boer, general manager of Friesland Foods, the producer of the Mili and Napolact brands, has explained the company's decision to increase the sale of products with a higher added value, such as yoghurts, UHT milk, cheeses and ice cream, as a move intended to make the business more efficient. Products such as powdered milk and butter, which is primarily sold to other players in the food industry, will have their share reduced within Friesland's business on the domestic market.
"Sales of the Mili and Napolact brands have increased, while Oke has declined; however, this does not affect us, because products with a higher added value have witnessed a rise," said De Boer.
For instance, sales of desserts made from cottage cheese, under the Mili and Dots brands, tripled against the same time last year and now account for 6% of the company's total sales.
However, cheese varieties account for the biggest share of the company's sales, 25%, followed by yoghurts, which account for 20% of the turnover. Friesland has investments worth 4-5 million euros scheduled for this year, for both modernising its facilities and acquiring equipment for environmental protection for some of its six Romanian plants. In addition, the domestic branch of the Dutch producer has also allocated a significant share of its budget to promoting products in its portfolio.
"The campaign to promote the Napolact brand amounted to approximately 1.5 million euros in the first half of this year. Sales of the Napolact brand increased by over 20% following the promotion," added Friesland's general manager.
Amid the expansion of domestic key accounts, Friesland is also expected to increase the share of its sales made through domestic key accounts, from 40% at present, to at least 60% in 2009.
The domestic branch of the Dutch company ended the first half of the year with a consolidated turnover worth 63 million euros, up 16% against the same time last year.
According to the Friesland representative, the profit posted in the first six months of the year has stayed at the level registered in 2006, with the main reasons behind this stagnation being the rise in the price of raw materials, as well as an increase in wages and electricity costs.
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