Tea Grguric: «Ready to eat meals and frozen vegetables are some of the most promising convenience foods in the Russian market»
— 2006-02-15 —

Grguric:  Currently experts estimate this market at about 100,000 tons, with an anticipated annual growth of 20%.   Around 80% of all frozen vegetables and convenience meals are imported in the form of vegetable mixtures.

FOOD:  What do you consider a convenience meal?

Grguric: Any packaged product that contains a main course – such as meat – along with vegetable sides, which can be heated up and eaten as a full meal.  

FOOD:  Why are vegetable mixtures and other convenience foods growing more popular in Russia?

Grguric: Vegetable mixtures – most of which are imported from Poland - are becoming more popular because they offer an excellent alternative to meat as a main course, especially for those who keep the fast.   What’s more, a growing number of consumers are choosing to lead healthier lifestyles, which, of course, means eating more vegetables.   And even though Russian consumers are not fully educated when it comes to convenience foods, ready-to-eat meals and flash-frozen vegetable products are certainly among the most promising we have on the market.  

FOOD: Are you planning to expand your line of frozen vegetables?

Grguric:  Produkty Pitania specializes in producing convenience meat products.  But we decided that in order to meet consumer deman, we would have to expand beyond meat.  So in doing so, we now produce ready-to-eat vegetable products.  Yet we understand that it will take some time to educate our consumers on the inherent benefits of these products.

FOOD:  What do you plan to charge for frozen convenience foods at the retail level?

Grguric:  We market our vegetable products to average-income consumers; so the price will be about 40 per 440 gram package (depending on the product).

FOOD: Will you use the same sales channels for both meat and vegetable products?

Grguric:  Yes, we will continue to sell both meat and vegetable products primarily in retail and network stores, some of which we have cultivated through special agreements.  In addition, we will continue to expand our own distribution network.

FOOD: Did you upgrade your existing production lines to ensure delivering new products like frozen vegetables?

Grguric:  Rather than upgrade them, we adapted them in certain ways.  For example, vegetables are processed differently than meat.  So we brought in highly trained specialists to help us incorporate the necessary equipment and production protocols in our existing facilities.  

FOOD: Do you use raw materials produced in Russia?

Grguric:  Our plant is located in the Kaliningrad region, which borders Poland.  So we can easily import a wide variety of the finest fresh vegetables.  And by doing so, reduce our overall distribution costs, while also maintaining the highest quality product.  Of course, we can then pass our savings along to the consumer.

FOOD:  Have you considered adding a line of frozen convenience foods made of fish?

Grguric:  So far, that’s still only an idea, simply because it would mean introducing a wholly different set of production technologies.  So even though Kaliningrad is a seaport, I think that it will be a while before we can seriously consider adding frozen fish products to our production portfolio.  That doesn’t mean that we won’t; it just means that the timing must be right.