Page 31 - Port of Hamburg Magazine - 02.19

Fine jams from Austria: Chinese are acquiring the taste
Sweet spreads are standard on European breakfast tables. In Asia, it tends to be rice or savoury. Nevertheless, the Austrian fine jam manufacturer Darbo is conquering the Chinese market. With a turnover of 2.5 million euros today, China belongs to the Top Five export markets for the family business based in Stans in the Tyrol. By and large, shipment is managed via the Port of Hamburg.
HAMBURG AND CHINA ■
“The real favourite for the Chinese is strawberry,” as Roman Mayr, Area Sales Manager for Adolf Darbo, is well aware. Eighty-five percent of the exported products go to the food service industry that prefers portion packs and mini-jars. However, the spreads rich in fruit, containing 70 percent of real fruit are the bestsellers regarding market share in the food retail trade in 200g jars. Apart from catering, the retail trade plus industry and bakeries are the customers for fine Austrian jams.
DIFFERENCES IN CULINARY CULTURE
“Our biggest challenge in China is jam as a product itself,” states Roman Mayr. The market is huge and has real potential, but the differences in culinary cul- ture, and in the sense of taste compared to Europe, are not inconsiderable. Add to this, customs proce- dures and certificates required on health or origin. However, last year Darbo delivered some 800 tons to Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Darbo assigns shipments solely to forwarder, select- ed for reliability, punctuality and cost-performance ratio. The pre-carriage is by rail ex-Salzburg, or in one-off cases, e.g. lack of container availability, ex-Munich, too.
For many years, this family business has been convinced of the reliability and service in the north- ern ports generally and the Port of Hamburg in par- ticular. The rail infrastructure, handling time in the port and concentration of services to the key coun- tries are the decisive factors for this. “We try to or- ganize our overseas shipments predominantly via Hamburg, not least of all because of the prob- lem-free handling and often enough because the customer instructs us to ship via the Port of Ham- burg,” adds Roman Mayr.
ADJACENT MARKETS
Apart from China, other neighbouring markets are of interest to Darbo, including Russia, South Korea, Tai- wan, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia and India. Overall, the fine jams
manufacturer wants to win market shares in Asia and increase exports. ■
Darbo in Brief
In 1879, the Darbo family started producing jams, syrups and fine fruit liqueurs in Görz, Austria. During the First World War the fruit steam works was badly damaged. The family attempted to rebuild in Stans in Tyrol. In the Fifties Darbo set up a new factory, lit- tle-by-little building up its market share and product range, becoming market leaders for jams and honey in Austria.
To facilitate deliveries to new markets, in 1990, Dar- bo extended its Stans plant with a new factory. In 2009, after managing the company for decades, Klaus Darbo handed over the reins to his son Martin who, jointly with his Uncle Adolf, is managing the compa- ny in the fifth generation. Darbo is now a well-known medium-sized family firm that produces high quality products, at three Tyrolean locations, for the catering and hotel sectors, as well as for the food processing industry.
Family standard-bearer for Austrian jam
(from l.): Klaus Darbo, Stefan Darbo, Martin Darbo, Matthias Darbo
Port of Hamburg Magazine | June 2019 | 31
© Darbo Konfitüren