Apetito

Exceeding expectations

Apetito provides more than just food – the company takes pride in offering tailor-made solutions for all nutritional or catering requirements

Mediterranean food, especially pasta, is increasingly popular in the German frozen foodservice industry, and is also appearing more and more in the supermarkets. Apetito of Rheine, a major foodservice supplier, is further developing the Mediterranean concept with its project ‘Mediterrane Kuche’ for hospital and clinic customers. The slogan of the campaign is ‘Taste the sun, feel good’, emphasising that Mediterranean specialties are good for you. The classic Italian pasta consists of complex proteins, which are not only healthy, but also slow to digest, keeping you satisfied for hours. Pasta is also an ideal accompaniment to lean fish, meat and poultry, and vegetables.

Apetito’s concept, which has found wide acceptance at hospitals and schools, was developed with the help of Professor Udo Rabast, a noted nutritionist from Essen. The result was around 180 ready meals and menu components, and a large amount of promotional material.

In Germany, Apetito offers a vast choice of delicious frozen meals, meal components and attractive meal systems, including a complete range of tailored contract catering services to cater for the specific needs of its customers. Furthermore, its production site in Hilter is specialised in frozen meals for the retail market.

The Apetito range comprises more than 2300 different meal products, which are served in its clients’ canteens, schools, nurseries, retirement homes, hospitals, company restaurants and by meals-onwheels home services throughout Germany. The business is also one of the leading manufacturers of frozen meals and meal preparations for the retail trade. To compliment this, Apetito has recently launched a new range of branded gourmet stir-fries, international meals, pancakes and casseroles.

Apetito in Germany is part of the larger Apetito group – a successful manufacturer of frozen meals and meal components for approximately 50 years. The organisation is headquartered in Germany and has subsidiary companies in the UK, France, Canada and the Netherlands. By being part of this group, Apetito Germany is in a unique position to offer both meal systems, which are designed to optimise its clients’ own catering operations, and a state-of-the-art contract catering service. Its range of products, systems and service solutions allow the company to accurately meet the specific requirements of its customers.

Over the last few years, Apetito has grown in Germany and internationally despite increasing economic difficulties in Europe. Continual investment in state-ofthe- art cooking and storage facilities has contributed to keeping the company at the forefront of the market. The business’ competitiveness is assured through its ‘fit for future’ programme, which aims to optimise processes within the organisation to ensure a high level of service for customers, at a competitive cost.

Furthermore, Apetito’s customers trust its products because of their consistently high quality standards. This trust is essential for maintaining long-term business partnerships. In addition, everyone at Apetito is committed to doing their best to meet the highest standard of quality. Consequently, the company provides a first-class catering service, which is designed to meet the needs and wishes of its customers.

As a result of this, Apetito was the first community caterer in Germany to achieve the prestigious DIN-ISO quality standard in 1994. More recently, in March 2000, the organisation’s quality management system was reassessed and approved to the more stringent ISO 9001 standard. For Apetito, providing the best service is not just an aim, it is also a constant challenge, which is why the company does everything in its power to exceed its clients’ expectations.

Apetito aims to bring its food to life. The business wants its customers to regard its meals as a highlight in their day. The company works hard to cook tasty and attractive meals for the most discerning palate taking into account regional differences, meals to suit varying ages and special food requirements. For example, Apetito understands that children love multicoloured and playful food whereas adults are open to trendy new meals, and older people prefer traditional dishes.

In addition, the company guarantees the best nutritional values in its meals. Apetito uses only first class raw materials and all ingredients are frozen immediately after being harvested in order to preserve maximum vitamin content. Overall, the business controls the quality of its meals at every stage of production.

As evidence of its success, the organisation came third in the Ludwig- Erhard-Preis awards 2007. The Ludwig- Erhard-Price is the national award for companies with sustainable peak performance and outstanding competitiveness. Apetito is the first business in the food industry to be a finalist in the category of ‘large companies’. The organisation believes that its customeroriented focus throughout the development and manufacturing of its products and services is the reason why the company received the award. Furthermore, the business’ employees and customers appreciate the special atmosphere of a family-owned company in an international arena. Apetito combines a passion for food and service with continuous solid business growth and personal development.

Approximately 30 per cent of Apetito’s business involves exporting its goods to countries including the UK and France. Looking at plans to expand the company’s export market, Manfred Konietzko, production director for Apetito comments: “Our guideline ‘Go for Growth’ programme comprises business expansion in all our market segments, such as the Netherlands and Canada. This will mainly be achieved through organic growth, as all the markets are very strong at the moment. This strategy will be implemented until 2012 with the main goal being to become a market leader in every area.”

He concludes: “We appreciate that world class manufacturing standards cannot be achieved in isolation. We believe that the integrity of the supply chain is vital. Therefore, the cornerstones of Apetito’s success have always been the use of top quality raw materials, as well as state-of-the-art manufacturing technology and highly qualified and motivated employees. Furthermore, all our internal and external relations are based on the company’s philosophy, which we call our ‘Best Partner Principles’. At Apetito we work for our partners’ success and treat one another with openness and honesty. We aim for the best and put our heart and soul into our mission as a service provider. Lastly, we pave the way for the future and create success to inspire our partners.”