The fourth season of SPAR Hungary's producer competition Hungaricool has resulted in nine winning brands and 37 products entering the market. For the first time, a financial advisor partner, K&H, joined the programme. The goal of the ongoing initiative is to strengthen the Hungarian economy by helping local small-scale suppliers and providing customers with new, quality products that are made in Hungary.

Nine new brands

Thanks to the Hungaricool producer programme, nine Hungarian products have been added to the shelves of INTERSPAR Hypermarkets again this year. The recently completed fourth season saw 179 businesses enter the competition, offering a total of 301 products. The production and sales of the nine winning brands and their 37 new products creates jobs for hundreds of employees, including for downstream suppliers.

The winning products must achieve continuous success during market trials and be in line customer expectations. The products could either be new innovations or, if already available, were not widely available. As part of the programme, the SPAR Supplier Academy and the best small business experts around the country provide continuous mentoring to the winners across sourcing, sales, quality management, marketing, logistics, and finances.

Applicants entering this competition must be aware of marketability and small-scale trends, as well as sustainability standards. “At the same time customers will also benefit, as they will be able to buy quality products and thereby support local producers,” said Márk Maczelka, head of communications, SPAR Hungary.

K&H partnership

K&H joined the Hungaricool competition in its fourth season as a financial advisor and took on the role to support the winners with financial advice and mentoring. This enables entrants them to fulfil their pledge to SPAR, achieve long-lasting business success, as well as become stable players in the market. Winners attended a two-day financial planning workshop, where they could learn about external financial resources and bank funding at the SPAR Supplier Academy’s Marketing Bootcamp event.

With this partnership, SPAR and K&H set a great practical example to encourage further innovations in Hungary. As part of the programme, the long-term relationship with the store chain and the bank helps the dynamic advancement of these businesses, as well as their ability to find new markets.

Hungaricool success

As a result of the previous success of the programme and the widespread marketing communications support which the company continuously provides, the product competition has become well-known among Hungarian businesses.

The winners and the products available in INTERSPAR Hypermarkets range are as follows:

1. Art Water Kft. – Fizz Water flavoured sparkling water in four different flavours
2. Disiteler Company Kft. – Wolf & Lamb herbal liqueur
3. Fragola Fagylaltozó Kft. – “Un Momento con Fragola” ice-creams in six flavours with three vegan options
4. Naturi Kft. – raw vegan, gluten, soy, sugar, milk, egg and lactose free crisps, biscuits and “living breads”
5. Trufo Hungary Kft. – mushroom antipasti, pesto products, and truffle olive oil
6. Vegán Mókus Kft. – Tunki-Tunki vegan dips in four flavours
7. Win One Kft. – Chocorich premium dark chocolate balls filled with pálinka fruit brandy in four flavours
8. Zimek Pálinka Manufaktúra – Mediterrán Gin, Carly’s Gin&Tonic in two flavours
9. Zucker Kft. – cheesy snack baked with sesame, caraway seed and cheese

Source: SPAR Hungary

Read more about SPAR Hungary.

About SPAR Hungary

The first SPAR Supermarket opened in Hungary in 1992, following the acquisition by ASPIAG (Austria SPAR International AG) of a majority stake in General Kereskedelmi Rt. Since its launch, SPAR Hungary has been actively involved in developing the country’s retail industry.