P. Tsinavos (Kri Kri): Pure speculation in cereals, some people hide them and show them whenever they want

By George Lampiris

In the speculation that exists in the food market, giving as a typical example the selling price of corn, which is used as a raw material for feed, as a result of which the price of milk has been affected, despite the increase in production by 50% to and 60% were mentioned by the president and CEO of the Kri Kri dairy industry, Panagiotis Tsinavos, during a press briefing. “The increase in cereals started last summer. I think it is the reaction of those who control the supplies and lost at the beginning of the pandemic. This is pure speculation, because some people hide the products and show them whenever they want. There is no shortage, it is artificial. “, He noted characteristically.

“Unfortunately, we live in a hard and free market and no ministry has been able to control it. No effective intervention has been made,” added Mr. Tsinavos.

Losses of 12% by volume for yogurt and 8% in value in Greece

“We are experiencing an explosive situation that we pay heavily for, especially in manufacturing. All this will affect the profitability of companies. We can not absorb the price increases at all. We have all gone through increases but it is not possible to go through all the rise in raw material prices. “The consumer will definitely be affected and we are already seeing that,” he noted elsewhere in his speech.

“Unfortunately, the market in fast codes is moving so far compared to the corresponding five months last year with -4.6% in volumes and -3% in value and increased price per unit by 1.7%.” As for yogurt added that it loses in sales 12% in volume and 8% in value in the Greek market.

“We have submitted an offer for Dodoni Ice Cream and we are waiting for the results”

Kri Kri is one of the companies that have expressed interest in acquiring the financially under pressure, Dodoni ice cream company. The head of the dairy industry, referring to the company, spoke of a “painful story.” “We have submitted a bid and we are waiting for the results around the middle of June”, said Panagiotis Tsinavos.

Exports: At 46% of total sales

Mr. Tsinavos noted, among other things, that Kri Kri presents a lot of room for double-digit growth in exports in the coming years. “We still have a lot of collaborations to start in Italy, as new codes are constantly coming out of our factory. Also, clean countries, with interest, are France and Spain where we do not have a presence so far. They are big markets.” The percentage of international sales on the company’s turnover in 2021 amounted to 46%.

The most important market in the export sector is Italy, where this year the turnover there will exceed 3 million euros (135 million euros the company’s turnover in 2021). The reason for the increase in sales in this country, is that Kri Kri managed to utilize the value of Greek yogurt and ice cream at the same time, launching greek frozen yogurt in the last three years.

The Greek dairy industry is active in some of the largest chains in Italy, taking advantage of the dynamics of the global ice cream market with sales of 58 billion euros, while the European has sales of 18 billion euros and the private label 10 billion.

Korea is the company’s second largest exporter of ice cream, followed by Japan, where European products are in demand and trade with the country is already under way.

Wide field of development for authentic Greek yogurt in Italy

In terms of yogurt, Italy has total sales of 1.6 billion euros with a decrease of 0.8%, however, authentic Greek yogurt in Italy has a value of 246 million euros in 2021 with an increase of 11% and ever-increasing dynamics. It should be noted that another company that is active in Italy with a strong presence, is the FAGE of the Filippou family. More broadly, authentic Greek yogurt presents significant growth prospects for Greek companies in the future.

In terms of the British market where Kri Kri also has a significant presence, the total yogurt market in 2021 had sales worth 1.4 billion euros with the authentic Greek yogurt at just 83.4 million euros and growth 1.3%. The largest yogurt market in Europe is Germany with 2.3 billion euros but only 5% of sales in this country correspond to authentic Greek yogurt. According to Mr. Tsinavos, a characteristic of German consumers is that they shop almost exclusively on the basis of low prices.

In Greece, Kri Kri maintains a share of over 40% in children yogurts, which show trends of further sales growth, while the private label is a strategic choice. According to P. Tsinavos, the private label offers the development of strong relationships with retailers and economies of scale. The market share in yogurt is 16.9% based on IRI March 2022 data and ice cream at 15.6% for the whole of 2021 with NielsenIQ data.

Abroad, new products are being developed with customers – chains such as M&S, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Esselunga, Aldi, Coop, Albert Heijn.

Investments in biogas – photovoltaics

Kri Kri has recently invested 6 million euros in the biogas sector, to utilize the whey resulting from the production of yogurt. The president and CEO of the company talked about an investment with many benefits, which has a capacity of 1 MW. “We cover 20% of the natural gas needs. We are preparing a new investment with a power of 1 MW in photovoltaics that will operate immediately and will cover 7% of our energy. The amount of this investment will amount to 600 thousand euros.”

Source: Capital

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