German entrepreneur Ludwig Graf stood at the idea of industrial utilization of drying as one of the oldest methods of preserving food. At the beginning of the twenties his firm started to produce soup seasoning and food concentrates on this basis first in Bysice and later in Kralupy nad Vltavou. The magic of dehydration started to control the market of the former Czechoslovakia and to penetrate into the traditional Czech cuisine.

In 1990 Vitana started to cooperate with the Norwegian company RieberSon, which is the majority owner of Vitana since 1992. After the entry of foreign capital into the company, development of new products was fully launched and the system of trading and marketing was totally changed.

The share of Vitana on the soup market is 55%, which in the Czech Republic grows annually by more than one fifth, and reaches more than 100 million consumer packagings. From among other products the Vitana sauces take 70% of the market, saute 75%, white-bread dumplings 50%, and liquid spices 98%. Last year the company had a total annual turnover of 3.3 billion crowns, this year it is expecting 5 billion.After Cokoladovny, Vitana became the second largest food company in the Czech Republic after acquisition of EMARK and BASK last year. In Slovakia, after the split of the CSFR a daughter company of Vitana was built which provides full service to its customers. Information about trading of Vitana with the Slovak Republic was provided by its General Director, Per Soderstrom.

Have any specifics been developed on the markets of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic ?

I do not see any difference between the two markets. The trade and the consumers are identical, even the trend and the consumption is approximately the same on both markets. The difference is that in Slovakia we are only on the second place, the first place is occupied by Nestle. In the Czech Republic we have a 50 - 60% share of the market, depending on the type of products.

How can Vitana compete with other companies on the Slovak market?

In Slovakia we have 40 employees working in marketing and trade, with an annual turnover of 440 million crowns. In Slovakia our advantage is that Vitana was the first instant soup for Slovaks which came to the market. Our products have a history there. They are tested from the point of taste and we find that they are very popular with the consumers. Maggi and Knorr products are imported from the west and they represent a tough competition for us. Maggi together with its firm Carpatia are number one on the Slovak market, we are on the second position, and Knorr has only slightly lower turnover than we. Our merchandise is not only soups. We offer traditional soup seasoning "Klasik", rice, bouillon, spices, sauces, pasta.

Slovak Trade FORUM