TGT, the mysterious acronym of the king of cheeses in Spain | Business | EUROtoday

It was the fifties when Teodoro García Trabadelo, a younger entrepreneur son of a household of textile shopkeepers from the Murcian city of Caravaca, determined to to migrate to Barcelona to make a residing. After making an attempt completely different enterprise initiatives, equivalent to organising bullrings for every type of reveals, he determined to lease a small place to retailer all kinds of cheeses, from imported to nationwide, which he distributed with two small vans, particularly in small retailers and in eating places.

In that small premises, the TGT group (acronyms that correspond to the identify and surname of the founder) emerged in 1963, which immediately is a pacesetter within the cheese sector, with annual gross sales of 73,000 tons between its personal manufacturers and people manufactured for distribution. Their turnover in 2023 reached 500 million euros because of the truth that within the Iberian Peninsula they’ve 12 personal factories and two built-in ones, in addition to slicing and packaging facilities. They have business workplaces in 17 nations and promote to nearly 40 extra. The firm is now within the arms of the second technology of the García Trabadelo household.

“After the strong development of the company in recent years, mainly through purchases, at this moment the main objective of the group is to consolidate and strengthen both the commercial and industrial models,” says its normal director, Sergi Ballell. “Industrial, because we have had significant growth in recent years, especially in terms of acquisitions, but also with the improvement and expansion of our own factories. In commercial policy, because the origin of the company is found in the sale of imported and national cheeses. Both are reasons for being that today we must share and integrate into the global strategy of a group that has also become a manufacturer from a marketer.”

When importing cheese from different neighborhood nations and particularly from Denmark, the Netherlands or Germany, gentle paste merchandise reign. A great a part of these cheeses have been constructed from surplus milk, and that permits them to entry different markets at extra aggressive costs. But what has given which means to the group was its transfer into manufacturing. “If you are a reference in the cheese market, it was not understood that we were limited to importing or selling other people's national products. “We had to start playing in the field of national manufacturing.”

The group's technique in markets with a whole lot of competitors goes this manner, finishing its supply with completely different cheeses, combining the sale of processed, gentle cheeses, largely imported from different European nations, with cheeses of nationwide origin made in its factories. . “Today we are the only Spanish group that, with imports, our own production and that of some collaborating companies, we have the capacity to offer the most complete range of cheeses to be in all markets and satisfy tastes from the most developed countries to the Asians or Africans.

The group took its first steps in cheese manufacturing a decade after its birth, and did so in two phases. In 1974 the first one began through a joint venture with the German Hochland without giving prominence to its own brand, but rather to the distribution brand or producing for other groups. This is how it grew, both in volume and in the development of its own structure. Other plants were added to the initial facilities in Barcelona to increase the offer with cheeses processed in Toledo, Manchego cheeses from Roncal de Navarra, cheese from Cabrales, Mahón or Galician tetilla.

Between 2019 and 2022, TGT carried out investments in plant expansion and improvement of almost 90 million euros with a view to having a more competitive position. In 2020, it took a stake in the Zamora company Lácteas Cobreros, specialized in production with goat milk. Once these investments are closed, the objective is to consolidate the industrial and commercial structure and there are no more bets planned, in principle.

After that first phase of production focused more on the volume of supply for distribution or for other companies, in 2018 the group took the step to commit to the brand policy, both for the product manufactured in its facilities and in those of collaborating companies. They have an offer of 2,000 references in almost fifty brands, such as Ahuyentalobos or El Galán, and of everything they sell, 60% corresponds to national production and the rest to imports.

Outside market

Foreign markets constitute one of the pillars of the group in a double direction. On the one hand, due to imports from other community countries of generally soft cheeses, of which Spain is not a large producer, and other products. comodities.

In 2010 TGT took the first step to market abroad, mainly Spanish cheeses with designation of origin, in markets where it enjoys great prestige such as Germany, the United States, Canada and the countries of Central and South America. In Asian and African countries, sales correspond to processed cheeses or creams. The group has plants in Mexico and Uruguay, as well as in Portugal. Exports represent 12% of its activity.

In the internal market, the strategy involves the diversification of marketing channels. The Horeca route (hotels, restaurants and cafes) accounts for more than 37%, followed by 36% generated by retail and more than 8% from sales to other industries.

The group is committed to innovation and development, actions to which just over 2% of turnover is allocated. In relation to the supply of raw materials, they collect more than 90 million liters of milk from almost a hundred beef, 150 sheep and almost 40 goat farmers, with whom they maintain supply contracts.

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