If you want to manage in a way to engage the team, to make them like-minded, this implies far more leadership, shared values, shared vision, ambitions and personal example, says Petar Stoilov, Nestlé Bulgaria executive director

This year had hard start for the cocoa market - its price jumped due to shortages. According to analyses, the reason for the lower harvest is climate change. How does the company plan to adapt to them?
The price of cocoa rose by 60% in 2023, and the analysis we receive every week clearly shows that in 2024 the jump will be even bigger. We expect price growth of over 80% compared to last year. Nevertheless, we will honor our commitments to sustainable business and continue to actively develop small farms in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. To invest in the Income Accelerator strategic program, which aims not only to finance farmers, but also to give concrete solutions on how to increase their cocoa yield in the new environment of changing climate conditions. Our long-term goal is to comprehensively improve the quality and way of life in those countries where cocoa mining is part of their national policy. We take a responsible approach to end-user prices at the expense of our margins in the "Sugar and chocolate products" category. In order to be able to withstand this pressure in the market, we are actively working on expanding the product portfolio in other categories and investing in innovations that will allow us to ensure stability in the company and increase production volume. This is clearly seen in the financial results of "Nestle Bulgaria", where the income from the category of chocolate products is a relatively small part in an annual plan.

You are developing several market segments - "Confectionery", "Coffee", "Baby food", "Pet products". Which of them perform best on the Bulgarian market?

In addition to the leading categories you mentioned, which are the basis of our success in the market, we also added a new for us, but highly developing segment of dietary supplements, by acquiring the company representing the Solgar brand. We continue to establish ourselves in the ice cream niche through Froneri. All this allows us to develop stable, regardless of market turbulence, and our turnover to exceed half a billion BGN in Bulgaria.

What part of the output you produce do you export to foreign markets?

Above 95-96%. Our factory is one of four in Europe that is a center of expertise for the production of Kit-Kat desserts. We have been chosen to be an innovative center - here in Sofia, innovative products and processes can be tested and implemented. For the second year now, we have also been producing Smarties chocolate dragees. We are talking about a volume of over 20,000 tons per year, and in the medium term, our strategy envisages doubling our production capacity.

Consumers are recently looking for healthier options and are willing to pay a higher price. Almost all sugar products use palm oil, which contains saturated trans fats - proven dangerous for human health. There is no ban on their use by law, but do you plan to reduce them, at least in baby food?
It is precisely as an innovative production center that Bulgaria is one of the leading countries where constant innovations are taking place in the entire portfolio to reduce the levels of sugars, salt and palm oil. We constantly and closely follow the changing demands of consumers to be recognized, preferred and build trust. I will give you an example - in Bulgaria, in the "Chocolate products" category, the most preferred part is the wafers, and there is a visible tendency for dark chocolate to replace milk chocolate in the coating. The growth of the premium segment of chocolate bars is also important, where the competition is also very high and the price/quality ratio is the key to success. We are also committed to actively educating and motivating people to choose a balanced, healthy and active lifestyle. We develop comprehensive programs for target groups such as "Nestle for healthier children", encouraging parents and teachers to help create healthy eating and exercise habits in children.

Manager