"Boromir" to bring the "Feleacul" brand back on the market

Cornelia Angelescu

The business of "Boromir" began with a mill in Rm.Vâlcea, which produced 100 tons of flour in 24 hours. In a few years, growing market demand allowed the company to acquire other mills in Buzău, Sibiu, Deva, Hunedoara and Slobozia.

"Boromir became the largest flour producer in the country, with a capacity of approximately 1,200 tons/24 h", Petre Lupu, National Product Manager at "Boromir", said. He added: "Today, aside from flour, the company"s portfolio includes a large array of products, which cover the pastry and bakery segments. The traditional "cozonac Boromir" (pound cake) stands out, as it has a market share of 85% on its market segment. It comes with various fillings and is specific to religious holidays. Other products include croissants, flaky pastry, Savoiardi ladyfingers, in various packages and weights". "Boromir" also sells a full range of milling products: bulk and packaged flour, corn flour, semolina, pearl barley, breadcrumbs.

Boromir"s production and distribution expanded continuously

The company"s Iaşi factory produces and sells pasta, which it sells under the "Giani" brand. Another factory, located in Sibiu, produces biscuits, under the Extrasib brand, and a second factory in Sibiu produces glucose.

"The launch of a Romanian traditional product - the Buzău pretzel (which we registered as a trademark) was a huge success. We are producing them in huge amounts, and they fly off the shelves", Petre Lupu said.

Last year, "Boromir" acquired the Cluj-based factory "Feleacul", as well as the namesake brand. The factory has been relocated to Sibiu and the Feleacul brand will be back on the market as one of Boromir"s products. Petre Lupu said: "In everything it does, is looking to strengthen its brands, which include Romanian products, produced in the best conditions (ISO 9001:2001 and HACCP certifications). We are looking to get them featured on the shelves of large retailers, who usually favor imported products, the price of which does not always reflect their quality".

Boromir"s distribution network covers the entire country. All of the company"s factories have their own logistic warehouses which supply all the adjacent areas. 30% of the company"s output is sold through the domestic networks of international retailers.

"We wanted to diversify our distribution as much as possible, in order to keep a balance between the large retailers and the other retail avenues. This will allow us to ensure that all our output gets sold", Petre Lupu said.

Cezar Popescu, sales manager at "Boromir", said: "The market is difficult at the moment. Many of our partners are experiencing difficulties. We are doing our best to help them. Getting paid is becoming increasingly difficult, stock turnover is slowing down and some of our customers are beginning to worry. We hope the overall situation improves by September, and hopefully the reality will meet our expectations".

The company"s management sees competition as an incentive, but tax evasion is very strong in the bakery segment, and neither the local administration, nor the government are doing anything to tackle this issue. The company officials estimate that there are over 10,000 black market bakery producers across the country, and in the county of Vâlcea alone 45% of all the bread comes from such black market bakers.