Interviews

We marched into the new year in a positive mood

Tuesday, 28 January, 2020 Food From Poland 37/2020
We are talking with Marek Maciejewski, the Sales Department Manager of Sertop, about the beginnings of Sertop company, the product portfolio development and new sales markets.
Sertop presents over 50 years of processed cheese tradition in Poland. Please tell us about the beginnings of the company and its development.

Sertop is a company with over a fifty-year-old tradition, and it is one of the biggest producers of processed cheese in Poland. The beginnings of Sertop go back to a small processing factory in Chorzów, the next stage was a modern, as for those times, factory built as a greenfield project in Tychy. The period of ownership transformation at the beginning of the 1990s and the present time. The factory operates in Tychy and still produces processed cheese in different forms. Cheese of the Sertop brand, in over 21 flavor variants, are products of the highest quality guaranteed by proven production technology, traditional recipes and the best Polish raw materials. Products do not contain preservatives, they are rich in easily digestible protein, mineral salts, microelements and calcium.

You are exporting to 21 countries. Apart from the EU, also to the USA and Israel. Please tell us about the biggest challenges for producers. Are you planning to expand into other markets?

Our products are willingly bought in the European countries where the processed cheese consumption level has been high for years: The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, the Balkan countries have already been a serious sales market for us for several years. At the same time we are selling our products to countries outside the EU. Traditionally our products are willingly bought in the USA and Canada by Polonia living there, but also Israel is a serious market where in cooperation with our customer we have created a product for clients from that region. We have adjusted our offer to concrete markets and continue working on maintaining a high level of our offer for our partners in different countries. At the same time, not being content with the current level, we have directed our interest towards the Middle East markets.

Which product characteristics are especially appreciated by foreign consumers, and why?

Sertop for many years prides itself on high, reproducible quality. The flavor and texture of our products are strictly adjusted to the requirements of concrete markets. Our products, recipes and flavors are worked out in close cooperation with our customers. We listen to their comments and advice. Assessment of samples constitute a guideline for us to work out which products are awaited and sought after on a concrete market.

In 2019 quite a lot of novelties appeared in Sertop, what were these products and how have consumers reacted to them?

We have been developing and modifying our portfolio all the time in order to adjust our offer to the customer expectations. At present we are drawing up several new projects. In 2019 Sertop company introduced to its offer processed cheese in slices in three flavor versions. The product was very positively accepted on the domestic market. Currently, new products are being offered to export customers. There is a big interest in these products because of their modern and easy form of packaging.

What was 2019 like for Sertop company?

We can positively sum up the year 2019. Sertop Sp. z o.o. is carrying out sales on the Polish market, and simultaneously on foreign markets. The domestic market is quite strongly saturated with products from various producers, still our market position and our share in the market is stable. The development of export sales allows us to continue to increase sales and development. At present, the export sales share in general sales volume constitutes over 40%. We are marching into the new year in a positive mood.

The most important plans and assumptions for the following years are…

To keep our position on the domestic market and on current export markets. To gain and stabilize our sales on the Middle East markets. But also to develop the brand, new products and develop dynamically. We are not resting on laurels, we are working on the constant improvement of our products and our offer.

Thank you.



tagi: Marek Maciejewski , Sertop ,