Food group Ter Beke is stepping up its export: it intends to ship its halal lasagna to the Middle East and Indonesia and ship its regular lasagna to China.
Ambitious CEO
Ter Beke aims to surpass the 1 billion euro turnover milestone, but it will need to more than double its current turnover (418.6 million euro) to achieve that. One of the ways to grow, is to increase its export.
In his annual shareholders report, CEO Dirk Goeminne sees opportunities for traditional lasagna export to China. “Chinese consumers with an average level of wealth love Western products, which is why we will bring our lasagna to the Chinese market, albeit under a different name. The first containers are on their way from France.”
Halal lasagna is another engine of growth, at first locally among Western Muslims, but export will have to contribute as well. Ter Beke is already in talks with Middle Eastern and Indonesian retailers to sell its chicken-based halal lasagna. The choice for chicken means Ter Beke does not need to worry about the Belgian discussion regarding the unsedated butchering of cattle.
New products
It will also launch a string of new products: it will launch “flexicharcuterie”, a mix of vegetables and meat. It will also start selling a cooked ham, made from its own pig stock. “We mainly have to broaden our horizons when it comes to our most important item, salami”, he said. The main goal there is to increase salami sales abroad.
Despite these new targets, the company will also still need to consolidate what it has already achieved. “Retailers consolidate much faster than manufacturers and they decide the rules. Our customers are growing and two of our largest customers have merged, which already has its impact on Ter Beke. Retailers are becoming more powerful, but discounters have already taken a 40 % market share. We need to make sure we are ready, which is why innovation and new markets are so important”, he mentioned in his annual report.
