Labeling Food Products in Hungarian a Hit in Romania

Labeling food products in Hungarian that are produced in Romania has become a marketing practice, and Romanian companies are also using the method, reports Krónika.

The article recalls that nine years ago, consumer protection fines were imposed in Covasna (Kovászna) County for Hungarian labels, but nowadays, the Hungarian language label has become a good practice in Romania. “This may be linked to the fact that food labeled in Hungarian is usually sold at higher prices in shops,” writes the author, who also asked food producers about this trend.

He gives several examples of Romanian companies in Bucharest using Hungarian labels alongside products from Hungary and Szeklerland. As an example, he mentions the “Csárdás” salami produced by Cris-Tim, the largest Romanian butchery distributor. It is sold with red-white-green ribbon packaging and with a larger Hungarian and a smaller Romanian inscription on the front of the label. The “family moments” dry pasta produced by MP Baneasa-Paste in Ilfov County, near Bucharest, also comes in red-white-green packaging, the article says.

“Madarasi Székely” cheese, produced by Bomilact Madaras Ltd., is also labeled in Hungarian with a Romanian-language description on a sticker placed on the product. According to Loránd Bogács, the company’s manager,

he had complied with the request of the Kaufland (hypermarket chain) sales representative to start marketing the products in Romania, originally intended for Hungary and labeled accordingly.

He added that the Hungarian labeling was primarily intended to appeal to Hungarian customers in Transylvania, of which the Turda (Torda) depot supplying the Transylvanian shops will be supplied, while products labeled in Romanian will be sold beyond the Carpathians. According to the company manager, the Hungarian label is aimed at a new group of customers.

The portal also mentions the brand name “Székely falat” (“Szekler bite”) sold in Mega Image stores, with the logo of Authentic Meat Ltd. in Gheorgheni (Gyergyószentmiklós) referring to the Szekler identity on its butcher products, evoking a Szekler man with a big mustache and a hat.

Nicoleta Ilas, commercial director, said the Benedek family from Gheorgheni divested the meat company in 2021, but the brand name and recipes were retained by the new investors, and their products are marketed under this name throughout Romania and abroad. According to her, it is not so much the label that attracts customers as the quality of the product.

Products made in Szeklerland are in demand on the market. Maybe it is because Szekler people are consistent and know what they are doing,”

she told Krónika. She said that they also tried to market the Szekler snacks under the Romanian name “Bunatati din secuime” (Szekler delicacies), but the Hungarian brand name proved stronger.

Zoltán Kovács, co-owner of Artimpex Kft. in Gheorgheni, also stated that all their products are labeled in Romanian and Hungarian, and are sold in shops beyond the Carpathians. “If they see the Hungarian inscription on a product, they look for it in Bucharest too, because it means quality for them,” he explained. He also cited a survey conducted by the company, which showed that 70 percent of customers are looking for Szekler and traditional products.

Via MTI; Featured image: Facebook/Székely Falat