New “free from” meat products and less plastic packaging at SPAR

SPAR Hungary is adding almost thirty new products including fresh meat and meat products, and to protect the environment they will reduce the amount of plastics in their packaging. Brand new “free from” products are hitting the shelves from the SPAR enjoy. convenience plant and they are also extending partnership with celebrity chef Jenő Rácz.

“SPAR Hungary is constantly working on providing customers with the best quality products. To achieve this, we need to be open to new things, react to the competitive market, understand ever-changing consumer trends, use the latest and most environmentally friendly production technologies, and grow our product range. The latter is an especially exciting task since it’s a long process originating with an idea through the stages of planning, production, testing and evaluating feedback until we achieve our goal. We only put the best possible food products in terms of price and value on our shelves. Our product development team is really flexible, always ready for challenge, and never shy away from new tasks even if they seem impossible at first glance,” said Márk Maczelka, head of communications at SPAR.

SPAR Hungary is starting several new and exciting projects in 2022. They are developing nearly 30 new meat products in their Regnum Meat Processing Plants located in Bicske and Perbál. The partnership with celebrity chef, Jenő Rácz has been extended to provide customers with even more exciting culinary experiences. This partnership is based on a mutual appreciation of quality ingredients and the appetite for continuous improvement. In addition to the fresh beef and seasoned mince products introduced in last year’s campaign, this year’s focus will be on the quality pork products produced in the meat plant which will be seasoned using the chef’s special spice mixes. In cooperation with the talented chef, three new products will be added to the current range this year.  In cooperation with the chef, three new products will be added to the current range this year.

The company is planning to develop five new products in the plant in Bicske including red meat goods, spicy speck, and parboiled sausages. The factory in Perbál started major renovations in January including platform works, the expansion of the additive storage facility, lighting renovation, and window replacement. It will be producing 19 new products such as boiled and smoked speck and bacon, different types of brawn, blood sausages, and premium ham products. SPAR is continuously improving its production technologies in order to provide customers with the best quality meat and meat products. In the factory’s lab in Perbál they run several microbiological and analytical tests and experiments to ensure the quality and safety of production processes, and recently renewed their certification for the production of quality of organic fresh meat goods.

SPAR enjoy. – convenience is key

Since its inauguration in 2018, the SPAR enjoy. convenience product plant has produced an increasingly wide range of sandwiches and salads to each store of the retail chain. SPAR’s 1,500m2 convenience product factory which opened in 2018 is located in Üllő and they have been adding new products and machine line in recent years.

Their range of sandwiches and salads have also grown to offer a fast but quality food product. They have added a number of new “free from” products to their convenience line such as chicken stuffed with lactose-free cheese fried in gluten free batter, the vacuum-packed gluten-lactose-palm oil-free vegan coleslaw, and the Veggie corn salad. They are launching their hot-dog and vegetarian sandwich products and mayo based seasonal salads this year, as well as continuing to add new options to the current sandwich range.

From the award-winning sausage to the vegan burger

“We were able to build on last years’ developments, which received positive feedback from our customers, in process

of preparing our new offerings for 2022. Last February, we began producing dry food products in our meat factory in Perbál. The smoked sausages are made from pork we also use for producing salami and are available in two flavours: sweet or spicy paprika. We also have some award-winning products in our own branded range. Our Regnum sheep intestine sausage was named one of the best of its category in the Big Sausage Test (which only premium category products can enter) organized by the Made in Hungary Top Gastronomy Association. Some of the products made in our plants in Bicske and Perbál were granted the Hungarian Brand Trademark logo in November 2020 and got renewed again for 2021. This means that we currently have 16 products using this trademark. We introduced 22 new convenience products to our SPAR enjoy. line in our stores including burgers with our own branded meat patties, both regular and vegan, as well as the spicy cottage cheese spread, fried cold cut and chicken sandwiches, chicken nuggets, pulled pork sandwiches, low-carb ham sandwiches, pickle salads, and coleslaw,” – emphasised Márk Maczelka.

Less plastic in packaging

SPAR prioritises reducing plastic in its product packaging and product development teams are constantly looking for new solutions. With the Regnum Meat Plant meat trays, they reduce the amount of plastic used in the trays using a technology which still complies with storage and protective gas packaging regulations. Therefore, they will start using cling wrap which is 10% thinner than previous packaging. The new trays will be thinner than previous, but it won’t affect their stability. They make almost fifty different meat products at the plant in Bicske, such as fresh raw meats, raw and packaged minced meats, and grill products, all of which will be packaged using the new cling wrap. It means that SPAR will reduce their plastic waste by almost 13 500 kg in 2022, which will help protect the environment. They have plans to use a similar method to reduce the use of plastic with vacuum packaged goods. The group is constantly analysing possible new technologies which will help with the production of environmentally-friendly goods for its customers.