Pangram invests in tourism

Pangram Resita, the maker of Monte Banato pasta, concluded last year with a 13 million-euro turnover, twice that of 2003, and began a 1.5 million euro programme of investment in the tourism sector. “The increase in sales comes after last autumn’s new product launch for tortellini, ravioli and canned tomatoes, all of which are branded as Monte Banato. They did much better than we imagined and Monte Banato has proven to be a mature brand already. After all, there is a clear trend on the market to launch new products under an already established brand,” says Ioan Popa, chairman and majority shareholder of Pangram Resita. The company is allocating its 1.5 million euros to a hotel in the Semenic Mountains, for which construction has already begun, and to a smaller hotel in Resita. “We decided to increase our investment portfolio and include tourism because we have reached maturity on the pasta market and have little room left for expansion. We expanded to the Republic of Moldova once Metro entered the country and the only place left to expand in the region would be the former Yugoslavia,” Popa says. ZF