With new products, owner of Mentos grows above the market

With heavy investments in new flavors, packaging and marketing campaigns, Perfetti Van Melle Mentos and Fruittella manufacturer, has been growing above the market in the country.
From January to August, sales increased by 13% compared with the same months last year, according to herself.
When considered only the row of Mentos mints, flagship of the company, there was an expansion of 11.1% in sales (revenues) from July 2014 and June 2015, while the category of drops, mints and candy presented an advance of 9.6% over the period, according to Nielsen data provided by Perfetti.
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In the first half of this year, were released five versions of products of this brand, as the flavors of caramel, Green Apple, cranberry and blueberry; In addition to new packaging in Tin and sachet for bullets that were already on the market.
According to the manufacturer, the launches of the last 18 months already are responsible for about 25% of the total turnover.
Sweet image
The company does not open numbers, but ensures that the Mentos brand has "arguably the largest representation among the others of the group" and that the Brazilian operation, which supplies all of South America, is one of the most important for the company in the world.
"Hunting has always been a leader in innovations and, this year, we are also allocating more investments in communications, media and promotions," said the President of Perfetti Van Melle in Brazil, Henrique Veloso, in an exclusive interview to EXAME.com.
In 2015, the values intended for marketing actions in several platforms were of 15% to 25% larger than those applied last year, according to Van.
On Monday, the company launches a campaign with the actor Fabio Porchat that, will take a consumer and three friends to a foreign trip in a private jet.
She has also used the famous figure to build engagement with consumers through social networks. Actions of this kind have reached an audience of 3.5 million people in the last 18 months, as he told Van.
"In addition to the aggressive investment in digital format, we have done marketing activities directly at the points of sale," said the Executive. According to him, the mesh of the distribution company grew approximately 39% over the past five years.
Optimistic view
Despite claiming that the results do not disappoint, Veloso admits that the instability of the economy has affected the Perfetti Van Melle.
"We are not shielded. Effectively we are in a situation much more austere than last year, "he said.
To address the volatility of the exchange rate, the company is focused on long-term results.
"What we did was go back all expenses for projects that give us sustainability over the next three years. This gave us a certain oxygen to survive better, "said the President.
According to the Executive, the company cut staff, but he spent "less representative" that he does not reveal. But, even with the challenges, the prospects of Veloso for the future are positive.
"We believe in the potential that we still have to win over consumers. In the coming years, if the market grows from 2 to 3%, we're moving from the 10% 8, "he said.
In 2014, the Italian company won 2.44 billion euros worldwide (about 10.8 billion reais in updated values). The Brazilian data are not disclosed.