Interviews

Interview with Joanna Gąsiorowska, President of the Management Board, Rarytas Sp. z o.o.

Monday, 09 October, 2017 Food From Poland 29/2017
Crackers, sandwich biscuits, regular biscuits – which category is undergoing the most rapid development? What new has appeared in the offer of Rarytas?

Currently, our company has been focussing on the development of salty snacks, so we are watching this category of products with particular attention. “Our shelf” includes increasingly more products with the addition of cereals, bran or flakes. One example of such a product in our offer is the Feria series of crackers with rosemary and sea salt. Moreover, a dominant trend among producers is to remove palm oil from the list of ingredients, which is what “Rarytas” has been offering in its portfolio for almost two years. Currently, a majority – approx. 80% – of our products are made without palm oil, and after we complete the expansion of our plant next spring, we will be able to bake all our products without it.

How exactly does the product offer of Rarytas meet the needs of foreign customers?

To an extent, the answer to this question was contained in my previous words. The trend for increasingly “healthier” products usually comes to us from foreign customers. It is during trade fairs, such as Anuga, that we fish out from conversations with customers visiting us what their needs are, what product they look for. Responses to such opinions include the creation of a new technology in cracker baking, without the aforementioned palm oil, as well as the establishment of the comprehensive “Zdrowy Rarytas” project we have already discussed in our previous conversation.

Can a product package alone be a deciding factor when shopping?

There is a belief that we “buy with our eyes”, and there is some truth in it. However, if it was entirely true, all products would probably be beautifully packed and… expensive, as the consumer would buy them anyway. An important role is also played by the price of the product; the ratio of its value to the packaging costs determines the final result, i.e. on the appearance of the product. It is hard to expect the value of beautiful wrapping to be higher than of the content, I think this is not the point. Packaging is supposed to attract buyers, draw their attention, intrigue them, convince them that the products inside are worth the proposed price. However, the most important things are the quality and taste of the product, so that the customers would be willing to buy it again. A pretty, aesthetic and original packaging is intended to help them find the product on the store shelf again. In my opinion, the fulfillment of these three factors – design, price, and quality – determines the product’s market success.

How is foreign trade developing? In which export direction is Rarytas heading?

On foreign markets of salty snacks, as this is the area I have most knowledge in, the turnover of companies has been steadily growing by approx. 3% year-on-year. Rarytas, as I have already said, is constantly developing, trying to adapt its products to the buyer’s preferences. We focus on quality and an appropriate price in a nice package. Our traders adapt their offers to the needs of local markets which are highly diverse, this makes the portfolio of cookies baked by Rarytas very rich: from classic salty ones and a group of delicate crackers with grain to the hot taste of spicy ones, all of this combined with different shapes for individual tastes, which can change almost freely. As one can see, our company has enough possibilities and shopping variants for everyone to find something for themselves.

The export hits of Rarytas are…

Currently, what definitely comes to the fore are the lightly salted Joy cracker in a 200 g carton. The unique properties of the product, its delicious taste and quite an unusual package (carton) are the reasons why this cracker is faring increasingly better on the market. In Poland, we can buy them in one of the nationwide supermarket chains, while abroad, it can be bought in the UK, in the Middle East, as well as in Africa. In Scandinavian countries, we can find them under the brand One.bite Crackers Original. Details of supply agreements to other European and North American countries are being finalized. For the upcoming months, we will also focus on stronger presentation of the Feria series crackers in a 100 g package, namely, the aforementioned crackers with sea salt and rosemary; dried tomatoes and oregano; herbs de Provence; and finally, crackers with pepper and garlic. You are welcome to taste and buy at our stand no. D 089 in the passage of Hall 1.1.

Thank you
Joanna Kowalska


tagi: Joanna Gąsiorowska , Rarytas ,