Revving up your enterprise! the Hungaricool product competition by SPAR and K&H launches this year

In 2022, the Hungaricool product competition will launch for the fourth time, with K&H joining the originator SPAR and taking an even more active role this year: providing tailored financial advice and financing to help the winners to level up. The programme will thus offer a unique business opportunity to winners who will then also be supported by the organisers with expert advice and training.

SPAR Hungary is committed to supporting Hungarian farmers, family enterprises, domestic agriculture and processing industry – promoting Hungarian producers, products and innovations is a cornerstone of its business philosophy. They are supported by the Hungaricool product competition, which started in 2019, for exciting high-quality products made in Hungary, which are newly developed or, if they already exist, are not yet widely available in retail chains. Quality is an important aspect, but other features of the product samples such as novelty, uniqueness, healthiness are also evaluated, as well as the marketability of the competing product, which will later be offered on the shelves and in the webshop of the Hungarian store chain, after contracting the winners.

“The goal of the Hungaricool product competition is to identify and support Hungarian small producers, to offer cooperation opportunities to family companies and entrepreneurs that meet the conditions and apply in the areas defined in the call with unique and exciting products that respond to market demand. The winners of the competition aiming to find and support the creative resources of the domestic economy, can offer their original flavour combinations, imaginative food or exciting non-food products in INTERSPAR stores and the SPAR Online shop. Following the past three Hungaricool rounds so far, 26 winning suppliers are present on the shelves of our retail chain with a total of more than a hundred products. In the framework of the programme, as business mentors we also provide a wide range of marketing support to the winners through the SPAR Supplier Academy,” explained Gabriella Heiszler, CEO and chair of SPAR Hungary.

In the fourth, 2022/23 season of Hungaricool, K&H supports the competitors as financial advisor, also levelling up the entire programme.  The financial institution will provide tailored financial advice and financing to the winners, to make sure they will be able to meet the obligations undertaken to SPAR.

“As a leading financial institution, we believe that we must strive not only to meet the needs of our more than 100 000 entrepreneur customers with innovative products and services, but also to encourage the launch of as many healthy and viable new businesses as possible, giving faith and confidence to entrepreneurs who are just starting out. We have helped entrepreneurs grow over the past decades with a range of programmes and we continue to support them now with financial planning advice and real financial backing. We are confident that we can help the SME sector, which is the backbone of the Hungarian economy, to develop and grow by encouraging innovative and sustainable ideas and investments,” emphasised Zoltán Rammacher, head of SME marketing and sales support at K&H.

The product competition is open to entries in food and non-food categories. For the former, it is important to note that only pre-packaged products can be submitted. Entries are invited in the categories of milk, dairy products, frozen food, fat and oil, processed or dried vegetables/fruit, confectionery, cereals, meat, bakery and egg products, salts, spices, soups, sauces, gravies, salads, sandwich spreads, organic (bio) products, speciality foods, baby and convenience foods, food additives, beverages and pet food. In the three previous competitions, around 500 entrants presented their products, with most of them entering drinks, coffees, jams and health food items. So far, experience has shown that an increasing number health-conscious, “free from” products are appearing in the entries, while at the same time many people are also entering with traditional foods.

As part of the programme, the SPAR Supplier Academy provides winners with ongoing mentoring in quality management, marketing and logistics processes to help them through challenges. With the support of K&H, winners will also learn the foundations of financial and cash-flow planning. The primary objective of the SPAR Supplier Academy is to provide Hungarian small businesses with the brand-building knowledge that will stimulate further product development and benefit them in other areas of life.

Further information and applications: https://hungaricool.hu/