JAM and condiments maker Beerenberg has experienced a 30 per cent jump in annual sales to about $19 million after a labelling overhaul so it can better compete against imported European brands and house brands in the major supermarket chains.
Beerenberg, established 43 years ago when the Paech family began making home-made jams on its strawberry farm near Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills, makes a range of 65 different products, with 30 per cent of total sales coming via the Woolworths and Coles supermarket chains.
Beerenberg managing director Anthony Paech said the business had been travelling solidly but the extended family history, which stretches back to 1839 when the Paech ancestors first arrived and which resonates strongly with South Australian consumers, wasn't gaining much cut-through in the eastern states.
"We were doing okay," Mr Paech said.
Mr Paech was also somewhat envious of the smart labelling on home-brand rival products such as the Woolworths 'Select' range, which Beerenberg competes against. "It was a light bulb moment for me," he said.
He was referring to the home-grown South Australian producer status having substantially less impact in the supermarkets of Sydney and Melbourne.
The label overhaul in late 2013 has paid dividends and sales have climbed about 30 per cent in the past year.
But the high Australian dollar has been a harder element to overcome, with 15 per cent of Beerenberg's products exported.
"It's been very tough for us," Mr Paech said.
Mr Paech said Beerenberg's importers in other countries take the exchange-rate risk, and had been forced to raise prices to preserve margins, in turn crimping the ability to drive sales volumes.
Beerenberg also has a substantial business selling small-portion serves to airlines and hotels and this had been important in expanding the brand's reach.
The company pitched itself as a premium product, and consumer confidence was reasonable at the high end of the market, but it was tougher at the lower end.
