Organic chicken to vegan sausage, niche brands seeking more space

Food manufacturers focused on specific niches are diversifying production to expand the target audience. Entries range from cuts of chicken non-transgenic options geared to vegetarians, pea protein-based. The Superbom designs 10% advance billing this year with the launch of new products, like the vegetarian chicken fillet, made from pea protein. With a focus on healthy products and known for vegan options, the company decided to expand your expertise and expand the products also for vegetarians, with an investment of RS $8 million in developing the new line, including machinery and research and development. In all, the manufacturer has released 13 options between sausages, mortadella, nuggets, burgers and chicken cuts vegetarians. According to figures released recently by Ibope, 14% of Brazilians say they vegetarians, the equivalent of 30 million people. According to the Euromonitor, the food market to this audience must move R $49.4 billion in 2021. "Our proposal is to assist the consumer in this process of transition to a free feed of animal protein," says the Director-General of Superbom, Lily Alberto. With the line of frozen products, the company, which until then worked with canned foods, intends to get to the food service and also expand sales in Brazil, as well as expand exports. "We're in very advanced negotiations with Mercosur countries. We hope to send the first container in July, "says Alberto. In addition Also focused on organic healthy food market, the brazilian Korin expects a growth of at least 15% this year. According to the company's industrial Director, Luiz Carlos Demattê Filho, the competition has increased substantially in the segment in 2017 and the company registered a more modest growth than usual, of 7%. According to him, the expansion plans of Korin are supported on two fronts. The first is an action more consistent sales, demonstrating clearly and directly to the consumer the attributes of foods. "This effort has had a larger-than-expected results in the first quarter". The second bet is the launch of new products, such as chicken cuts and non-transgenic eggs. The company already operates in the organic and with animals free of antibiotics and growth promoters. Now, going on to offer meat of chickens fed with grains that use pesticides in the production process, but they differ because they are not genetically modified. "In this way, we seek to consumers who have assimilated the concept of healthy eating and to begin to make the transition from products that are not organic, but exactly have adhesions with these principles," he explains. In addition to issues like the rising cost of grains and of greater competition with the conventional chicken on the shelves – which offer increased in the first quarter with the restriction of imports by European Union countries –, weighed for this strategy is the fact that the organic products have a number of bottlenecks in the production chain. One of them is the lack of bulk grains, which prevents the company from producing any food with this concept. The Korin casts the slaughter of 7000 birds this year, up 8% from 2017. As Demattê Son, the launch is part of a diversification strategy. Three years ago, selling chickens respond by 87% of the company's revenue and today represents 64%. The organic and sustainable livestock is currently the second most important product of the company, followed by the organic eggs and chickens created out of cages. In October, the Korin passes selling tilapias. "This diversification of productive chains is significant for our business."