Chr Hansen tour targets Russian producers
sensory tour' across Eastern Europe, has unveiled new products in
Russia to inspire local manufacturers, Angela Drujinina
reports.
Chr Hansen's mobile showroom spent the week in Moscow as part of its 8500km whirlwind tour of nine Eastern European countries, including Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and Hungary.
The show room was equipped with a variety of new food products cooked with the firm's own ingredients, including: a new black yoghurt, fluid yoghurt made of buttermilk, yoghurt desert with chocolate and mint, kefir products with aromatisers created specially for Russian market, cheese, sausages, biscuits with cheese flavours, caramel with chilli or curry flavour and many other delicacies.
Many of these products are not currently on the Russian market (many of them are also not in Europe), and Chr Hansen said it planned to broaden the view of local manufacturers, while also learning more about their needs.
The firm gave presentations about its product developments to students and manufacturers in its 50 square-metre expandable show room designed to allow people to 'see, hear and taste' everything.
Mihail Sneatkovsky, manager of Chr Hansen's Russian representation, said: "Chr Hansen ingredients are present in almost all products that we eat and drink everyday, although many Russian manufacturers do not even imagine that.
"Actually, breakfast, lunch and supper for many Russian citizens contain our ingredients. This magical tour will bring us closer to the manufacturer and consumer - this is a good opportunity to get acquainted and make lasting contacts," he said.
In aid of making more contacts, the showroom will also spend three days visiting the Institute of Biotechnologies, Lianozovsk dairy, belonging to Russian dairy firm Wimm-Bill-Dan, and Moscow State University of the Food Industry.
The fact that one of Chr Hansen's characteristic features is that all its products are natural may give it an edge in Russia, as in a number of other markets, due to the importance of this for emerging consumer health trends and food safety.
Yet, the firm's success also inevitably depends on the courage of manufacturers to get out and actively research consumer taste and product preferences.
After Russia, Chr Hansen will move its tour on to Latvia, Poland and Germany before finishing up back at its Copenhagen headquarters.
