Hungary's PET project

Innovative PET packaging for products such as juices and bottled water has helped increase sales of these products in Hungary over the last 12 months. But beer remains the dominant packed beverage there, and is likely to extend its leadership even further this year, claims Canadean​.

A new report from the drinks industry analysts shows that the Hungarian market as a whole has seen a marked increase in consumption over the last few years, with the primarily foreign-owned brewers leading the way.

Beer represents around four-fifths of packaged beverage sales and saw volumes rise 7 per cent in 2002 helped by higher disposable incomes and a hot summer. The rise was most beneficial for cans, which now account for about one fifth of beer packaging, Canadean said, although glass remains the most important pack type for beer, not least because of Hungary's large production capacity.

Within the 80 per cent of sales accounted for by glass, refillable bottle's share remained static while non-refillables increased sales marginally owing to their popularity in on-premise consumption. However, all pack types could benefit dramatically if, as Canadean predicts, demand returns to the levels of the 1990s due to fierce competition caused by overcapacity within the brewing industry.

Ironically, cans were the biggest losers when it came to the carbonates sector, the second largest in the Hungarian drinks market but just some 10 per cent of the size of the beer segment.

Carbonate consumption increased by 5 per cent last year, but non-refillable PET saw its share of the pack mix soar by 29 per cent - much of it at the expense of cans which are said to be perceived as 'unhealthy' by consumers, despite their perennial popularity in the beer segment.

PET also benefited from an 18 per cent rise in packaged water volumes driven by the sparkling segment. Despite the steady growth of still water, the leading position of sparkling water is maintained due to Hungary's long standing tradition of carbonated water consumption, Canadean said. Although the nation's water intake is now approaching EU levels, fillings are expected to keep growing at above the average rate.

Packaging changes are also driving growth in the juices and nectars segment. Innovations such as new closure tabs on cartons and the use of PET for nectars are tipped by Canadean to help revive the shrinking market, which has recently fallen victim to consumers' growing interest in cheaper still drinks. But PET is also playing a pivotal role in that market - the carton remains the most important pack type for still drinks, but a record high consumption of 24 litres per capita has boosted the sales of 50cl PET packs in this segment.

Overall the Hungarian packaged beverage market rose by almost 8 per cent last year. Refillable volume fell 4.3 per cent while non-refillable was up 41 per cent, mainly due to the substitution of cans for glass bottles in beer packaging. Looking ahead, Canadean claims that any further increases in non-refillable packaging will be largely attributable to PET, which has already made significant inroads into water, carbonates, still drinks and nectars.