Summary

The average annual consumption of bread and bakery products in Romania is about four times the EU average. Market studies have  estimated that during the next decade bread consumption will remain fairly constant. However, consumption of bakery specialties and pastries is expected to increase. Due to the short production cycle of these goods and the relatively stable demand, competition on the bakery products market has been constantly increasing.

LIDO Girbea SRL is one of the largest baked goods companies in Prahova county. The company’s strategy for remaining ahead of competitors is to continuously invest in improving the quality of its products and expanding its market coverage. Support from the Romanian Rural Development Programme helped the company invest in increasing its storage capacity, purchasing machinery to enhance production and buying 35 vehicles to expand its distribution coverage.

Results

The project increased the company’s sales and led to new commercial contracts for the distribution and delivery of bakery-pastry products with national networks and multinational partners (i.e. BILLA, CARREFOUR, Kaufland or Profi).

Additionally, it created 20 full time jobs, increasing the total number of employees to 240 in 2010.

The annual production capacity of the company increased to 6 600 tons. The bakery products were diversified to include traditional Romanian recipes as well as new ones.

The process of manufacturing bread and bakery products became almost 100% automated. The main task workers still have is to supervise installations and procedures.