[30.03.2004, 15:50]
Professional personnel for food industry: what, where and how to teach?
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As part of the round table organized by the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hotel Operators (FRHO), issues concerning the development of education services for the Russian food industry were discussed. “Professional standards in restaurant industry professions”, worked out by combined efforts of experts and specialists of the restaurant industry, were presented to the Education Ministry of the Russian Federation officials, as well as representatives of specialized high, secondary and elementary schools. T.A.Kunitsin, director of the Center of Restaurants and Hotels Personnel Education, gave a brief review on the education services market for restaurant and hotel industry, based on the State Statistics Committee’s data and the results of the pole conducted by the Polling Center.
After a short analysis of the modern food industry requirements for specialized food education, M.V. Privezentsev, executive director of the FRHO, suggested discussing the possible ways of mutual cooperation in developing education services for the food industry.
More than half of the round table participants expressed their opinions and suggestions regarding this problem. The president of the FRHO summed up the meeting and pointed out that the Federation is intended to support any initiatives targeted at the development of the domestic food industry and the preparation of professional personnel.
[20.03.2004, 11:30]
Different stages of evolution of the Ukrainian tea distribution vetwork
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The results of the research conducted by the company “Ecoproduct” showed that the product distribution model of the largest players of the Ukrainian tea market has undergone 3 stages of evolution from the post-Soviet period to the present times.
The first stage - 1994 to 1999. In their choice of dealers and distributors, the Ukrainian tea producers and importers gave their preference to whole-sale or “multiproduct” companies.
The second stage - 1999 to 2003. Tea producers finalized optimization and development of the dealer-distribution structure.
The third stage - from 2003 to the present days. Most of the producers either established their own distribution network or started cooperating with an exclusive distributor or the optimal number of regional dealers. Compared to the situation in the end 1990s, when anyone interested could participate in the tender for distributing the brand of a company, now only 3-4 candidates can take part in the tender.
By the present days the following structure of the tea retail sales network has been formed in the largest cities of Ukraine: tea sales at the street stands occupy 6% in the st4ucture, the share of markets accounts for 53%, the share of kiosks and pavilions equals 8%, stores and specialized shops amount to 1% and 2% respectively. As for retail sales volume, 21% of tea is sold through food stores. Large supermarkets account for 4% of the total market volume. The rest of trade venues accounts for about 5% of the total tea sales volume.
//Proua.com//
[18.03.2004, 10:30]
Vague becomes clear. What are the real profits of tea traders?
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The annual tea sales volume in Russia amounts to 147-160 thousand tons, or 1-1,25 kg per head, with 85 percent of Russians drinking tea daily. The total tea sales value equals $600USD. In value terms, the Russian tea market grows by 30 percent a year. The trend is partly driven by the fact that specialized tea clubs, which promote premium tea sales, started appearing in the country In the recent few years, over a dozen of such places has appeared in Moscow only. The owners of tea clubs claim they work mainly for an idea, being content with the modest profits that come from the business. However, according to the wholesale dealers’ estimates, potential profits from the sales of “tea on drought” can reach as much as 1700%.
//Kommersant.ru/k-money//
[16.03.2004, 17:30]
Ice Tea market is being formed in Russia
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In mid-2003 Wimm-Bill-Dann, EKZ (Experimental Canning Factory) “Lebedianskiy” and the joint venture of Pepsico and Unilever simultaneously reported their plans to start the production of the new beverage Ice Tea, in an attempt to establish the new segment of the Russian tea market. The earlier attempt by WBD in 1998 was a complete failure. Now WBD is trying to avoid old mistakes.
Early 1998,WBD started building a portfolio of juice brands, in which, beside other products, the company decided to introduce Ice Tea. “These were the times when juice market in Russia did not exist as such. We had to act by intuition, using the Western experience. Ice Tea had gained a strong position in the Western market by that time, the success serving as an impetus for us. So we started the production of the new beverage in Russia,” said the brand manager of WBD, Elena Okhlopkova. The product was called Ice Tea. Several types of tea with fruit flavours - lemon, peach, etc. - were created. Ice Tea was bottled in a 0,33 liter can and distributed through the existing dealers’ network. The modest investments, which the company made into the promotion of the product, were not enough to make Russian consumers notice the product.
There are now two companies that have decided to move into the Ice Tea sector almost simultaneous with WBD. These are EKZ “Lebedianskiy” that has started the production of “Frustyle Ice Tea”, and PepsiCo in conjunction with Unilever, that are now introducing “Lipton Ice Tea” into the market.
Specialists believe there is nothing surprising in the fact that several companies are simultaneously seeking to enter the segment. The share of Ice Tea consumers has increased from 0,1% in 2002 to 1,2% in 2003. The fact that the share of the segment is small makes it highly potential. Those who started developing the segment might largely contribute to its growth and stimulate the competition.
//Sf-online.ru//
[15.03.2004, 10:55]
“Stoik” modernizes its tea production...
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The group of companies “Stoik” has summed up the results of the project “The modernization of tea production” (Joint Venture “Solomia”: TM Batik, “Askold”, “Domashniy Chai” (“Home Tea”)), as well as of the sales promotion measures. The modernization project was aimed at installing the up-to-date Italian tea packaging equipment, with the estimated cost of the project at around 3 million USD. The outcome of the project was the increase of tea bags share in the assortment and the stabilisation of prices as a result of the reduction of usual costs per unit of goods produced.
The Ukrainian tea market amounts to 20 thousand tons in volume terms. The market share of the 3 brands of “Stoik” amounts to 17,4 percent in volume terms and 19,2 percent in value terms.
The Joint Venture “Solomia” has an annual production capacity of around 3,000 tons, according to Marketing.vc.
Source:
//Torgrus.com//
[04.03.2004, 14:00]
Baristas compete in Rostov-on-Don city...
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On the eve of the International Women’s Day 8th March, South-Russian Barista Championship will be held in one of the clubs in the city of Rostov. The event will host regional coffee makers.
18 participants from 6 cities of the South Federal Region will be judged by the jury, consisting of Rostov coffee shops and restaurants owners, as well as a focus group - people of a high status position and level of income (over 100 people).
//Rostov.ru//
[03.03.2004, 12:30]
The share of rejected tea has substantially reduced
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Management of the State Inspection on Trade, Quality of Goods and Protection of Rights of Consumers over Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast checked 4,555 regional trade venues in 2003, press secretary of the Committee on Economics and Investments, Alexandr Butenin reported to the correspondent of ABN (www.abnews.ru). According to Alexandr Buterin, as a result of the inspection in 2003, different types of violations were found in 3,960 companies (86,9%). Inconformity of the goods to the requirements of the Standard and Legislative Acts appeared to the major violation and was noted in 47% of cases. Similar to the year 2002, in 2003, the unfavorable situation with the quality and safety of goods continued. However, the share of defected tea has substantially reduced, from 26,5 percent in 2002 to 12,5 percent in 2003.
//Abnews.ru//