PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2012

EDITOURS REPORTS 34 PET planet insider Vol. 13 No. 09/12 www.petpla.net Bulgaria blog Finally I reach the Bulgarian border. Inevitably, there are queues of vehi- cles and endless hold-ups at the crossing point. Once arrived in Sofia, I manage to locate a suitable place to bed down for the night at a supervised car park near the airport. Slashed tyres on some of the other vehicles testify to the qual- ity of supervision. The narrow, crowded roads of the city are not really suit- able for the Editourmobil so I decide to hire a car, and the first task is to find a Wi-fi hotspot. Shattered after the long and tiring drive, I decide to call it a day, and go to bed early. Refreshed after a good night’s sleep, I prepare for my two appointments at Gotmar and index-6. To get to them is a 150km drive, and pro- gress is not helped by the fact that it is bucketing down with rain, the road is under water, and there’s no sign of the weather improving. Both appointments more than make up for the pseudo-monsoon how- ever. It is 10 o’clock at night when I finally pull up beside the Editourmobil. I am asleep practically before my head touches the pillow. The next day brings some new chal- lenges. For starters, I have a lot of writing to catch up on, and more impor- tantly, I need to get the windscreen repaired. The man in charge at Iveco Sofia is Victor, who cannot do enough for me. Without so much as a by your leave, I change Victor’s reception area into my temporary mobile office. He plies me with food and drink and even makes the Wi-fi access available. Victor, I can’t thank you enough for your hospitality. I leave Sofia and set off in the direction of Turkey. Victor had kindly allowed me to stay a second night at the Iveco premises which was handy as it is conveniently placed for the motorway to Istanbul. The sun is shining, and all is well with the world. Before long the temperature will hit 20 degrees and more. At the last petrol station, just on the border, the Editourmobil quenches its thirst. Turkey, here we come! - Kay Krüger - Romania blog After my brief sojourn in Turkey, Roma- nia is next on the agenda with a detour via Bulgaria, where Kay has already inter- viewed two major companies. The roads in Bulgaria are in an awful state, so I am extremely relieved when, on Sunday evening, I reach my destination and my appointment with Bericap in Ploiesti, where I am to meet Tiberiu Bako, the Gen- eral Manager. Together we spend a conviv- ial evening at his local hostelry, where, over a pleasant meal and a bottle of the local wine, the conversation turns to a philosophical discussion about whether Count Dracula really did exist. - Alexander Büchler - In 2010 the figures shown in chart 1 emerged for the consumption of non-alcoholic beverages: CSDs 24.1%, water 26.9%, cordials, juices and sports drinks 9.7%, iced tea 1%, milk and dairy drinks 6.7% and, for hot drinks, 5.1% (coffee 3.9%, tea 1.2%). As regards the alcoholic beverages sector, beer takes a clear lead with 19.6% whilst wine and spirits accounted for a mere 4.3% and 2.6% respectively (Source: Gotmar). As far as market size is concerned chart 2 shows that there have been no significant changes in the various segments in the last four years. Categories 2008 2009 2010 2011 Alcoholic drinks in million litres 683.6 689.4 680 682.9 Hot drinks in tonnes 17,684.60 17,538.70 17,643.50 17,836.60 Soft drinks in million litres 1,385.90 1,368.70 1,315.70 1,337.50 Chart 2: Market size / total volume over the past years (Source: Euromonitor International) Gotmar From drawing board to finished product (from left to right) Dimo Golev, Kay Krüger, Zdravko Kormevski and Lidija Velcheva with the Go to Brau Beviale banner Chart 1: Overall consumption of beverages in 2010: approx. 2560.2 million litres (Source: Gotmar)