Linea goes beyond the sweetener

The food brand Linea, known for sweeteners, is reaking in the pandemic the fruits of the diversification strategy adopted in recent years.
The company, which started only with the sweetener, today has 150 products in 25 categories. In July of this year, Linea's food segment reached 50% of the brand's sales for the first time. The other half of sales are left with the sweeteners segment.
"We are a young company in a booming sector, which is healthy food. We are very optimistic and seeing opportunities in the market", Marcelo Limírio Filho, President of Linea.
The focus of the brand is sugar-free foods. In the portfolio there are from biscuits and chocolates to jams and ketchup. The items with the highest sale (besides sweeteners) are chocolates and jams. "We have been working to change the image of the sugar-free product as something tasteless and the acceptance has been increasing," says the executive.
Now, one of the company's focuses is to expand its distribution. Linea's sweeteners are at 50,000 points of sale. But the other products vary by category. "We still get contact from consumers saying they know linea has a product, but they can't find it in their region," he says.
One tool that is helping the company in this challenge is the sale over the Internet. The brand has its own e-commerce for a year. Now, it is expanding its presence in large marketplaces. Today it already has partnerships with B2W, Magazine Luiza, Via Varejo and Amazon. Soon it should also close with Free Market and Sugar Loaf.
With this, the expectation is that online sales reach 6% of the company's revenues. "The brand needs to be seen and remembered. Brands seek strategies to impact the consumer at the physical point of sale. Online is the same thing," says Filho.
With the rise of internet purchases driven by the pandemic, Linea has seen consumers interact more with its portfolio, a key step towards ceasing to be known as a brand of sweeteners and come to be seen as a food brand. The average ticket of internet purchases, for example, is already larger than in the physical points.
Linea also saw its total revenues grow: between January and August, the increase was 25%, compared to the same period last year. In the entrepreneur's view, higher food consumption at home and greater concern for well-being boosted sales.
Among the products with the highest growth are jellies, gelatins, cake mixtures and the culinary sweetener.
The company earned R$ 140 million in 2019 and expects to grow 25% in 2020. The goal is to double in size over the next three years and strengthen brand recognition.
For this, Linea bets on functional foods, aimed at improving well-being and immunity.
"We want to be nestlé zero sugar market."