Strauss injects a further 4.5m euros in Doncafe

The Israelis are investing another 4.5m euros in the promotion of Doncafe, the brand launched on the market in 2008 in the wake of 15m-euro investments in the first year.

“We must boost consumers’ awareness and loyalty. We’re still building the brand,” states Marius Meleșteu, general manager of Strauss Romania, also announcing the 2011 sales target: a single digit advance against this year, amid an expected further coffee consumption decline.
The company’s total investments in Doncafe thus revolve around 20m euros by late 2011, a value also including the budgets for package change projects. Doncafe sales domestically reached 284m RON (67m euros) in 2009, with Doncafe as the second biggest brand on the market, after Jacobs (Kraft Foods).
Consumers’ brand loyalty is the main reason Strauss has lost market share after launching Doncafe in 2008. In the first year of betting on Doncafe international brand, the company lost clients and saw its market share go down by 2-3%, according to the data supplied by Strauss.
Meleșteu states Doncafe saw its market share return to growth in mid-2010. “Each company’s objective is market share, of course. Now, we do not want leaps, but constant month-to-month increases and improved brand awareness,” he says.