Selmi and Nestle investing in instant pasta
Valor Econômico
It was not with rice, nor with beans. When the consumer's income increased, it was with the instant pasta that they decided to spend. Proof of this is that among all the food products, the packets of noodles, which already come with seasoning, were one of the items that had the highest sales growth last year, according to Nielsen. They leaped from R$ 759 million (US$ 414.8 million) in 2008 to R$ 822 million (US$ 417.3 million), with an increase of 8.4%. In 2010, to continue selling more, the industry is betting on the evolution of the category, with more elaborated products. Even a restaurant chain of ramen noodles (the Japanese word for instant pasta) will be launched to promote new ways of consuming the product.
"We have partnered with Chef Sergio Arno to develop recipes that will be part of the restaurant Renata Express menu", says Ricardo Selmi, president of Pastificio Selmi, owner of the Renata pasta brand. The first restaurant will be opened next month in Tamboré Shopping in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. "It will be a pilot store for a franchise network of only instant pasta to be served right away", said Selmi. With that, the entrepreneur expects that the sales of the product to be made at home will undergo a positive impact in the year of 15% in relation to 2009, thanks to the image projection that he hopes the Renata Express brand reaches.
Nestlé, owner of the Maggi brand, is betting on the Brazilian custom of personalizing the recipe of the instant pasta. For that reason it is launching a new line in which the sachet of seasoning comes with bits of dehydrated vegetables in nature. "The Brazilian consumer, unlike others in Europe or in the United States, does not prepare the pasta as soup, with that broth. Most people like to add beans, ham, and many other ingredients in the recipe, making it something customized", says Salvador Pimentel, director of the line of products of Nestlé Maggi. The company is also introducing a version with integral pasta. With such innovations, the two manufacturers hope - as they say - "to enhance the category" with more elaborated products, but without great changes in price. "The affordable price is one of the pillars of that category", says Pimentel.
The packet of pasta that is ready in five minutes costs less than R$ 0.80 (US$ 0.44) in most supermarkets in the country. According to him, the combination of low price, convenience and versatility of recipes for the preparation, were the factors that drove the growth of the consumption last year. The multinational is expanding production lines at its factory in Bahia, opened in 2007. Selmi is also investing in more productive capacity. There are R$ 40 million (US$ 22.2 million) to expand the production lines of pasta and also cookies in the factory of Sumaré, in the interior of São Paulo.
All these efforts - both in the field of investments and innovation - have a common goal: to ensure a bigger share in a market that is increasingly competitive. "Many companies of cookies have started to make ramen too", says Ricardo Selmi. Parati and Panco are two examples. With that, the number of competitors in the segment has almost tripled in the last five years. No wonder. Within the pasta market, the ramen is one of the most profitable ones. Despite representing only 11% of the volume of pasta sold, it accounts for 23% of the sector revenues.