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NEAR AND MIDDLE EAST
”Sales volumes
have doubled in
fi ve years.”
Joe Tayard,
Vice-President, Bel Near
and Middle East
The Near and Middle East region is home to three
manufacturing sites in Turkey, Syria, and Iran, and
three sales subsidiaries in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and
the United Arab Emirates. The region’s sales volumes have
doubled in the past fi ve years, underscoring the strong growth
potential into which Bel has been able to tap. In 2011, market
conditions were notably complicated by growing business
uncertainty, government-imposed selling-price ceilings despite
higher raw material costs, and aggressive local and regional
competition. Despite those diffi culties, Bel’s strategy of being
close to its markets and consumers paid off, with market share
maintained and growth in sales, even in Syria, where volumes
advanced 8% in 2011.
Kiri ® , the core brand with the region’s highest sales volume,
performed very well in the Levant countries, particularly the local
Labneh version and its range of cheese spreads. Kiri ® also did well
in Iran, where Kibi ® , the Iranian name of the brand, was successfully
launched and confi rmed in 2011. The Laughing Cow ® was also
introduced to Iran in 2011. Further, it benefi ted from a very
effective advertising campaign in countries throughout
the region on the www.albakara.com website.
In Turkey, the recovery of the subsidiary acquired in 2006,
continued apace with manufacturing improvements, improved
distribution and efforts to better target the core brands.
In all Near and Middle Eastern countries, Bel took advantage
of its regional brands like Regal Picon ® , and its strong national
brands like Picon ® in Lebanon and Rouzaneh ® in Iran which
complete its range.
In early 2011, the
Americas region was
expanded to form the
Americas, Asia-Pacifi c region.
The region has kept the
momentum going with sales
advancing 11.9% in 2011. The core
brands continued to develop at
a brisk pace in the U.S. market.
Mini Babybel ® sales climbed 21%,
making the U.S. the brand’s
largest market and justifying the
decision to invest heavily in the
construction of a new production
plant by 2014.
North America proved to
be a strong growth market
for Boursin ® , whose sales
increased some 30%. Sales of
The Laughing Cow ® trended
slightly down, particularly in the
second half of the year versus
2010, when the launch of three
new The Laughing Cow ® fl avors
stimulated the market. The three
variations continued to grow in
2011, and their performances
demonstrated U.S. consumer
demand for new products —
demand that Bel must meet.
11.9%
increase
in sales
AMERICAS, ASIA-PACIFIC
” The region
maintained its
momentum with
sales up 11.9%. ”
Éric de Poncins,
Vice-President Bel Americas, Asia-Pacifi c
In Mexico, a partnership set
up with a local retailer and an
effective advertising campaign
pushed awareness of the
La Vaca que rie ® brand up 40%
by end 2011, establishing a solid
base on which to build future
sales of Bel products in
this country.
In Asia-Pacific, one priority
has been a market review to
continue a sales offensive
in high growth countries like
Japan and Vietnam, and to
define strategies for potentially
high-growth markets such as
China, South Korea and Australia.
In 2011, Japan and Vietnam
reported strong growth, building
on consumption habits and
several innovations for Belcube ®
and strawberry flavored Pik &
Croq’ ® , auguring well for
the development of sweet
products in the region.
Bel Group 2011 • 11