One of the Nordic country leaders in fresh cut salads, prepared and plant-based food, Bama Nordic, is beginning to recover and move to normal trading following disruptions due to the recent Omicron variant and previous lockdowns. The group is also concerned about, and is and bracing itself for the effects of, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, says Anette Dremo, Head of Marketing and Communications at Bama Nordic.
“At Bama Nordic in Sweden, we import salads from Europe during the autumn, winter and early spring. We have been suffering from disrupted trade due to Covid-19 and all the lockdowns from the start but in different ways. In the beginning people were eating a lot of root vegetables. That changed as people were buying more things to stock at home. Due to Covid people limited physical visits to shops. We do a lot of foodservices, that was dead in Finland, especially. When the Omicron wave came, we suffered a lot due to our staff that did not come to work. January was very bad due to them not being able to work. Now it is better. Especially in Finland, they had hard restrictions during autumn and up to now. Hopefully we will recover sufficiently as a business,” explains Dremo.
Bama Nordic produces and sells fresh cut salads, convenience food, different breads, sandwiches and ready meal salads and plant-based food suitable for vegans as well. Their primary market is in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and the Baltics.
She notes energy prices increased as well as other input costs of producers, raising prices for them as a business. “Of course the Russian invasion of Ukraine will also now have an impact. Diesel prices will go up even more. We are still buying from Southern Europe. To transport the produce here is becoming difficult and expensive and will raise prices for us. The indirect effect is that normally a lot of Ukrainian people come to Sweden to work in the fields. That is one part that will affect us. There’s also a lot of Ukrainians who are truck drivers from Southern to Northern Europe. Due to this we foresee an impact on prices and availability in the coming summer.”
Dremo says innovation is important in the convenience and plant-based category. “There must be quick rotation in products. You must present novelties at least twice a year. There is demand for fresh and healthy product, in line with our vision of a healthier and fresher future. For plant-based food, we use soy based, pea-based burgers and sausages etc. We produce ready meals and sauces that are vegan. Growing very much in last 5 years, a little bit slower now, but huge competition in the category new brands and products. We have to put our products in a concept to give consumers an experience for them to understand the brand and product better.”
“For the past 2 years, during several lockdowns, everything was very online based. There was no activity in stores, due to safety reasons people were shopping online. It remains important to show the product, to get people to taste, to understand our products, especially within the plant-based area. It is very new and there are many drivers of course. The environment is a big one. However, if it is not tasty, then it’s not attractive, even if it is environmentally friendly,” says Dremo.
She says the overall trend is the same across Nordic countries with Sweden normally a little bit ahead. “Where it differs the most is within the vegan area. The frozen category is big in Sweden while the chilled category is big in Finland. While the plant-based category is increasing at a good rate the organic category decreased a lot. People are now interested in more local foods, produced in Sweden. The advantage we have is our three different plants spread across Sweden and in Finland. We have our fresh cut salads from Helsingborg and Espoo in Finland. Our factory for plant-based food and convenience is placed in Lindesberg, close to Stockholm,” concludes Dremo.
For more information:
Anette Dremo
Bama Nordic
Tel: +46 702 658 582
Email: anette.dremo@bama.se
www.bama.se/en