Kraft Foods Continues to Invest in Russia Despite Economic Downturn

9 July 2009 – On the occasion of an anniversary ceremony marking 15 years of presence in Russia, food giant Kraft Foods said that it remains committed to investing in its Russian plants.
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According to the firm, the Russian market plays an important part in its global “5-10-10” strategy for developing markets – 5 segments of the market, 10 countries and 10 brands. In Russia, primary emphasis is placed on three categories of goods – coffee, chocolate and biscuits.

“Today, and for the foreseeable future, Russia is one of the most dynamic and rewarding markets for any company.  Russia has a wealth of both natural as well as human resources. Therefore, long term, we see Russia as not only a source of highly profitable growth, but also as a major supplier to our global talent pool”, said David Steer, Director General of Kraft Foods in Russia.

Last year, Kraft Foods opened a full-cycle freeze-dried coffee plant in the Leningrad Region, representing an investment of about USD 150 million. This year, the plant’s capacity has been doubled to 10,000 tons. Kraft Foods, with its brands, Carte Noir, Jacobs, Maxwell House and Maxim, is a leader in the freeze-dried coffee segment in Russia.
 
As a response to the current economic conditions, Kraft Foods is introducing new smaller versions of its famous Alpen Gold, Milka and Vozdushny chocolate brands, which soon this summer will appear in stores. Alpen Gold is a leader in the Russian chocolate market: every sixth chocolate tablet bought in Russia is Alpen Gold. In addition, two more flavours of Milka recently appeared in the Russian market: “cherry and cream” and “cream caramel”.

Kraft Foods Russia also plans to rebrand its Prichuda and Chocobarocco biscuits to the Alpen Gold Chocolife trademark.Steer also announced the successful implementation of its pilot project regarding synchronization of data with the Metro retail chain.

“Such innovations make it possible to increase the quality of customer service by increasing the speed of information processing. The synchronization will help to cut the time of a new product launch in half”, said the company.