Food distributor Alfredo plans EUR 5 million investment in logistics center

Romanian food distributor Alfredo reported sales worth EUR 50 million last year and hopes to grow its business 20 percent by the end of 2012 despite the general drop in consumption, said Daniel Nistor and Cristian Darmanescu, Alfredo’s two owners.

The business was set up 20 years ago and it presently made out of two distinct companies, Alfredo Foods which covers the import and distribution of frozen products including fish, and Alfredo Fresh which is best known for the import and distribution of exotic fruit.

In addition to other investments, Alfredo plans to inject about EUR 5 million into a joint logistics platform in Afumati near Bucharest. The project will be started next year and should be completed in 2014. About half of the money for the investment will come from EU funds. Alfredo presently owns a factory for frozen products in Constanta, and warehouses in Bucharest, Afumati, Galati, Constanta, Bacau and Oradea.

Last year only 5 percent of the volumes of fruit and vegetables sold by Alfredo Fresh were local products whereas the target for this year is 10 percent. “Unfortunately local production is well behind the European level. Romanian farmers don’t understand that production alone is not enough. They have to meet certain standards related to the assortment, packaging and classification of their products in order to sell them to large retail networks,” said Nistor explaining that this is slowly starting to change.

On the frozen products segment, the company estimates the local market at EUR 500 million with a considerable potential for growth in the years to come. “Romanians eat on average 4 to 5 kilos of fish each year, less than half of the EU average. So there is definitely room for growth,” said Darmanescu.