• PanFree, a brand founded by the entrepreneur Ovidiu Plutașu, entered a segment of the continuously growing bakery market.
In a market segment valued at 300 million lei, where imported products predominate, the entrepreneur Ovidiu Plutașu opens, under the brand PanFree, the first Romanian factory dedicated to gluten-free bakery products.
The factory in Onești, Bacău county, became operational recently, following an investment that exceeded the amount of 4 million lei, of which 1,4 million lei came from European funds. PanFree debuted on the market last year and its products are available in the company's online store as well as in the Carrefour chain of stores.
As early as 2019, when he started with a small artisanal bakery, Ovidiu Plutașu noticed the growing demand for gluten-free products. This trend inspired the decision to develop a dedicated factory, which currently produces gluten-free bread and muffins. "The market of gluten-free products grows annually by 3-5%, and its value exceeds 300 million lei. My objective is to reach 10% market share in one year and reach 20-25% in the next three years", the entrepreneur declared during the show ZF Business from Zero, a project supported by Banca Transilvania.
Local alternative to imported products
The gluten-free products sold in stores in Romania are mostly imported, the majority coming from Germany (about 85%), followed by Poland and France. "We thought it was important to have a local alternative. Our recipes are not only innovative, but also very tasty", explained Ovidiu Plutașu. Bread produced by PanFree has a validity period of 17 days.
The factory has modern equipment and can produce up to 250.000 units monthly, and the entrepreneur expects to reach maximum production capacity in the next year and a half. The factory team currently has 17 employees, but plans include expanding the staff to around 30 people in the next year.
For the future, Ovidiu Plutașu intends to expand the presence of PanFree products in all the large supermarket chains in the country, already having ongoing discussions with Mega Image, BebeTei and Kaufland. It also plans to launch gluten-free scones for the Easter holidays. "My dream is that in 3-4 years PanFree will become the most popular brand of gluten-free products in Romania and we will start exporting to neighboring countries", he added on the same show.
Article source: Business from scratch. Ovidiu Plutaşu bet on PanFree, the first Romanian gluten-free bread factory, in a market of 300 mil. lei dominated by imports.
Photo source: PanFree.
Article written by Gabriela Dan, Editor-in-Chief Arta Albă
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