Polish manufacturer of sweets Lumar: We see great prospects in the Ukrainian market

The manager of the export and marketing department of Lumar company – one of leading manufacturers of cookies and sweets in Poland – Zhanneta Valkovich, talks about the history of the company, production facilities, countries of presence and the company’s plans on the Ukrainian market.

Lumar is Polish confectionery manufacturer founded in 1992 as a family company. Over 30 years of work, businessmen have created a modern company with a fully equipped factory and highly qualified specialists. Lumar specializes in the production of waffle pralines and balls, waffles, biscuits, chocolate and buttered wafer rolls. One of Lumar’ features is molded waffles, atypical shapes such as balls, fancy waffles, waffle cakes and chocolates.

Major brands: Lumarki (waffle praline), Sisi, Mileana (waffles and biscuits), Tufinki (chocolates), Creation de luxe (praline in chocolate chips). Its quality is ensured at every stage: from recipes developed with carefully selected ingredients, through high organoleptic properties of final products, to flawless production processes. Since 2003 the company has been working on the HACCP integrated food quality management system. In addition, the company’s quality policy has been based on the requirements of BRC (British Retail Consortium) and IFS (International Food Standard) since 2009.

Lumar products can be found in Europe, Asia, North America and Africa. Export is a significant part of the business and accounts for 40% from the company’s income. The manufacturer cooperates on the Polish market with largest retail chains and traditional stores served by regional distributors.

The manager of the export and marketing department of PPHU Lumar Zhanneta Valkovich said in an interview with RAU what is represented in the company’s assortment. She also said with which retail chains the manufacturer cooperates, and how it plans to develop on the Ukrainian market. You can find out more about Lumar products at the specialized international exhibition World Food Ukraine, which will be held on November 2–4, 2021 in Kiev, at the International Exhibition Center, stand A-3-2.

– What does your company specialize in, what products does it produce?

– Our product assortment includes a wide selection of waffles and biscuits, wafer pralines, wafer rolls with butter and chocolates.

– How many years have you been working on the market?

– We have been on the market for almost thirty years.

– Is the production concentrated exclusively in Poland or is there also foreign projects?

– Our production facilities are located in the Poland southwestern part, in the town Byczyna, Opolskie Voivodeship.

– What is the production capacity of your company?

– PPHU Lumar’s production capacity is 450 tons of finished products per month.

– Your products are sold exclusively in Poland; can you buy it abroad as well? If so, and to which countries do you export goods?

– Sales of Lumar products in Poland account for 60% from the total turnover. Our products are widely represented abroad; we cooperate with trading partners from Europe, Asia, North America and Africa.

– What part of the production is exported – in physical and monetary terms?

– Export accounts for 40% from our sales.

– In which retail chains are you represented?

–We cooperate in Poland with retail chains such as Biedronka, Lidl, Tesco, Polo Market, Netto, Dino, Lewiatan, Makro, Intermarche, as well as with distributors such as Eurocash and regional store’ chains.

– Do you manufacture products for private label retailers? Or do you work exclusively under your own brands? If there is a private label, what part of production does it take and who is the customer?

– Private label, that is, the development of a client’s own brand has become an important part of our business, which we carry out for retail chains and other clients in the B2B channel.

We offer comprehensive services for the development and production of assortments at customers’ request. In doing so, we use our know-how and many years of production experience, as well as our knowledge of trends in the confectionery market. This can be quite new services on products’ design or production according to our proven recipes ready to roll out.

– What percentage of your products is supplied to Ukraine and in which chains can find it?

– Lumar products can be bought in Ukraine in ATB, Socar, EKO market chains and others.

– In your opinion, what are main difficulties in exporting goods to Ukraine and work with local retailers?

– We do not see any big difficulties when exporting Lumar products to Ukraine, only what we would like to simplify in the future: these are extensive requirements to documentation.

– How are you looking for partners to sell your products? How long does it take to enter new markets?

– We find business partners by participating in international exhibitions, and interested clients contact us through the website. The Ukrainian market has its own representative.

Procedures for entering a specific market differ from country to country.

– What does it take to become a distributor of your product?

– You just need to contact us to become a seller of our product. Each client is very important to us and is always treated individually.

– How do you look for suppliers of raw materials, control its quality and production safety?

– We only qualify suppliers with a certified BRC, IFS or FSSC 22000 system, according to the implemented IFS and BRC quality standards. Then we are confident that raw materials are produced in conditions that meet highest quality standards, and production’ conditions are regularly checking during inspections carried out by accredited certification bodies.

– In your opinion, what is the main advantage of your product compared to competitors’ products?

– We specialize in the production of wafer pralines and molded waffles with a unique shape. In addition, we always adhere to the principle of the “healthiest alternative” when developing our sweets. That’s why we choose unhardened fats or completely replace it with butter. We are looking for natural flavor equivalents and only use natural colors. We do not use preservatives in our products. Wafer rolls with butter that we offer are the only such product on the market that is baked only with natural butter. Flavors of our products are obtained using natural additives, mainly cocoa, nuts and milk, and fruity aromas of pralines are obtained by sublimating strawberries or lemon.

– Tell us about your projects of corporate social responsibility and environmental initiatives: which ones you are implementing and how this direction is important, in your opinion, for business.

– Modern enterprise’ management in planning’ strategies should take into account not only economic goals, but also the impact on society, the local community and the natural environment. We implement corporate social responsibility in accordance with ten United Nations principles in four areas:

• Human rights (observance of human rights, prohibition of human rights’ violation included in our company’s regulations and ethical conduct code)
• Labor standards (observance of principles of freedom, prohibition of forced labor, prohibition of minors’ labor)
• Protection of the natural environment (training of workers on waste segregation, carried out within the framework of workers’ training, as well as minimally invasive production, for example – last year’s investment in equipment that allows 100% retention of organic pollutants, and more)
• Anti–corruption in any form.

Our policy brings many benefits, increases the quality and culture of the company, public awareness and affects the achievement of goals.