Walmark eyes first or second spot on the vitamin market

The Romanian office of Walmark, the Czech pharmaceuticals company, has plans to become one of the top two players on the vitamin and nutritional supplements market in Romania, a segment on which it already accounts for 11%, company officials say.

“We want to increase the market share we have on the vitamin and nutritional supplements segment to over 15% by the end of the year,” said Horia Valcu, the general manager of Walmark Romania.

Turnover is expected to grow by more than 25% this year, Valcu says, reaching approximately 6.3 million euros.

Earlier this year the company added 3 new products to the Artrostop line, which is already present on the local market. “The launch of these products should enable Artrostop’s share in our company’s sales to increase from 15 to 20%,” Valcu said.

Walmark turned over approximately 5 million euros last year, up from the 3.4 million euros it made in 2003. Company officials say the growth in turnover came from the aggressive promotion campaigns.

Advertising and promotion spending by the company amounted to about 1 million euros (net figures), with this year’s budget set to exceed that of 2004. The best-known products in the Walmark range are Artrostop and Prostenal.

“The vitamin and nutritional supplement segment is very competitive in Romania, with over 40 producers of various sizes selling to the market. The first ten companies control more than 60% of the market,” explained the Walmark general manager.

Walmark estimates the vitamin and nutritional supplements market in Romania for 2004 at 35-40 million euros, with growth faster than for the rest of the market. Vitamin and nutritional supplement consumption in Romania is much lower than in Central and Eastern European countries. The Czech market, for example, is worth 250 million euros, despite having a population less than half the size of Romania’s.

Still, the trend on the market over recent years clearly shows that consumption of such products is picking up. This is the result of the population’s increasing awareness of the need to take vitamins, which previously were taken only during winter.
alexandru.cerchez@zf.ro