Economic Yearbook of the Stara Zagora Region, 2010

Net Sales Revenues – BGN 624 mln.
Profit – BGN 56 mln.

230 companies are operating in the sub-sectors Manufacture of Food Products and Manufacture of Beverages. Their total NSR amount to BGN 473 mln., which represents a minimum growth compared to the previous year. Despite the economic and financial crisis, the sector sustained a positive growth in 2009. Food products and beverages are among the goods subject to everyday and mass retail trade, which helps recognized companies to keep their market shares. Most of them sustained their products assortment and national market orientation.
In September 2009, the Stara Zagora sausage manufacturer KEN AD opened a new factory, affirming itself as a leader in the manufacture of short-lasting sausages for Southern Bulgaria. The factory’s production capacity is 60 tons of durable and short-lasting sausages per day. It is equipped with up-to-date machinery and operates in compliance with Bulgarian and international meat processing standards. A total of BGN 22.2 mln. were invested in the new factory.
The new manufacturing facility allowed KEN AD to plan expansion of their products list and add over 20 types of sausages, including new durable sausages, smoked meat, ham, etc., to the list. KEN AD has a 24% market share of the trade in the most popular short-lasting sausages (frankfurters) in Bulgaria. Frankfurters remain the company’s main product (40% of the entire output) attracting customers with their high quality and exquisite taste proven and sustained throughout the years. The factory is equipped with high performance production lines of world leading brands employing state-of-the-art technologies.
KEN’s second factory, which has operated successfully during the past 9 years, is currently being re-equipped for the production of new types of meat products. Thanks to its established traditions and good distribution network, customers’ demand for KEN products sustains throughout the entire country in 2010. Thus the company preserves its leading positions in this very dynamic market sector, holding 12% of the sausages market share in Bulgaria.
KEN AD is ranked 3rd in the sub-sector in terms of profit and NSR, after Gradus – 1 OOD which is the largest and most modern factory for manufacture and processing of chicken and poultry meat and meat products in South Eastern Europe, and Zagorka AD brewery.
The leader in the sub-sector, Gradus – 1 OOD, owns a factory occupying an area of 15,000 sq. m. with 350 employees. BGN 35 mln. have been invested in the facility, which is in operation since 2006. The production equipment is supplied by the Dutch company Stork, a leader in the manufacture of conveyor lines for processing white meat. The Gradus – 1 factory operates with a closed production cycle, from the egg to the sausage, and has its own incubator, fodder factory, and broiler breeding and cramming farms. The facility has a production capacity of 50,000 tons of poultry meat per year and the company has export agreements with EU member states (Great Britain, France and Germany). The 2008 NSR of Gradus–1 OOD increased by 44% compared to the previous year, reaching a total of BGN 201 mln. The company reported a record consolidated net profit of BGN 27 mln., i.e. 13% more compared to the previous year.
Another company associated to Gradus group, Biser Oliva AD, is also among the leaders in the sub-sector. The Swiss company Risoil SA is one of the majority share holders of Biser Oliva, owning 48.7% of the capital. Biser Oliva buys and processes sunflower seeds for the production of cooking oil, hydrogenated oils and groats. The year  2009 started with the introduction of a new extracting and pressing conveyor line worth BGN 28 mln. and a modernized steam purification installation. The new equipment increased the factory’s productivity to 550 tons of sunflower seeds processed per twenty-four hour shift, i.e. 220 tons production output. Biser Oliva AD has also introduced a wastefree production technology, utilising the sunflower seed husks for burning.
Zagorka AD is the largest brewery in Bulgaria with a market share of over 30%. The company was established in 1902. Since 1994, Zagorka AD is owned by the world brewery giant Heineken. The factory produces various brands of bee: Zagorka, Ariana, Kaiser, Heineken, Amstel, Starobrno, Stolichno.  
For the first 3 quarters of 2009, the sales of beer in Bulgaria have decreased by 10% as compared to the same period of the previous year. This reduced also the output growth rate of Zagorka AD, which was 21% for 2008. Despite the economic crisis, the company continued its investment policy aimed at increasing the brewery’s production capacity and productivity, and guaranteeing the quality of its products. Zagorka AD’s financial statement for 2008 reports NSR totaling BGN 151 mln. and a net profit (after taxation) of BGN 17 mln.
The beer of Zagorka brand is one of Stara Zagora’s symbols that have survived throughout the years. In the autumn of 2009, the brewery opened its doors for tourist visits as well. A special tour allows the visitors to learn more about the company’s history, the technologies used, as well as to taste the beer. The brewery exposed its own museum collection called Zagorka’s World, which comprises 130 unique exhibits and is officially certified by the Ministry of Culture.
The image of the region’s food industry sub-sector is further completed by Domaine Menada winery, the fruit and vegetable processing and preserving factories: Konex – Tiva OOD, Provimi – Zara AD, Uncle Statis EOOD, Dioni OOD and the fodder manufacturers Provimi Zara AD and Nikolina Alendarova ET.
The NSR of the 10 largest companies in the sub-sectors Manufacture of Food Products and Manufacture of Beverages exceed BGN 517 mln. The total profit of the 10 most successful companies amounts to BGN 52 mln.