The Agroholding "Miratorg" started production of sausages at a plant in St. Petersburg, its representative Dmitry Sergeyev told. In total, "Miratorg" produces eight types of sausages - boiled, boiled-smoked, semi-smoked and sausages (doctoral, serverel, Krakow, etc.).

The Miratorg Agriholding of the Alexander brothers and Viktor Linnikov is Russia's largest pork producer with a 10.9% share of the market in 2017 (production totaled 415,000 tonnes). The holding also produces beef (82,000 tons), poultry (114,000 tons), and produces semi-finished products (45,000 tons). For the production of sausages the company uses chilled raw materials of its own production, says Sergeyev.

Until recently, "Miratorg" was associated with consumers with premium products, such as steaks, for example, and not with inexpensive doctor's sausage or dumplings, Alexei Andreev, director of the Depot WPF branding agency, argues. "From the point of view of classical marketing, it is still better to produce products in different price categories and product groups under different brands," he said. This, he said, allows the consumer to better navigate in a wide range and avoid possible reputational risks for the "head" brand.

The sausage market is complex and very competitive, with a high entry price, the representative of the agricultural holding said. Therefore, Miratorg was preparing for a long time and went into a new segment, when it became convinced that it could "give the consumer a product that corresponds to the quality of Miratorg brand," argues Sergeev. Now the agroholding is building the largest slaughterhouse in the Kursk region, it also provides for the production of boiled and smoked products, this is another reason why Miratorg decided to start making sausages, a person close to the company knows.

Demand for sausages in Russia is falling, according to GfK. Sales of sausages decreased by 3% from July 2017 to March 2018. This is due to more rational consumer behavior, explains GfK. In addition, the trend is influenced by a healthy lifestyle, as well as the development of catering and food delivery services. In general, according to GfK, 26% of meat in Russia is sold in the form of sausages, sausages and delicacies.

However, one of the leaders in sausage production, the Cherkizovo Group, managed to increase sales of meat processing products by 9% last year - to 236 638 tonnes, including by increasing the share of sales in federal retail chains and increasing the share of branded sausages and semi-finished products of pork, the company noted in the annual report.

While Miratorg sells its sausages in the online store and its own supermarkets Miratorg, which operate in Moscow, Moscow, Kaliningrad, Voronezh, Belgorod and Bryansk regions. The company is negotiating deliveries with other retailers - from small retail outlets to large federal networks, Sergeyev assured.