About our company:
Márka Soft Drink nowadays
2007: 6 M bottles
Our green aspirations
At Márka Soft Drinks, we are committed to minimize the burden on our environment. During our developments and production, we strive to protect our surrounding and external environment. For this purpose, our main focus is to use special PET raw materials for the packaging of our soft drinks, and to apply our own wastewater treatment plant during the bottling process.
R-PET
Most plastic packaging is recyclable and may be processed multiple times without losing the basic properties of the raw material. In line with the objectives of the circular economy, the recycling of PET bottles is also a priority, a practice which is becoming more widespread in the European Union.
Flasks and bottles containing recycled PET material, abbreviated as rPET, have been produced for years for food and household chemical products, among others. The rPET content can vary from 5 to 100% according to customer needs. Due to EU regulations, PET bottles must already contain 25% rPET by 2025. During the recycling process, the bottles received through the selective collection system are pre-sorted, arranged in bales and then sent to the processing companies. During processing, the bottles are re-sorted and cleaned of any contaminants, labels and caps during a very thorough washing process. Purification is followed by grinding and then an extrusion process produces rPET. The production of rPET for use in the food industry requires increased technological discipline and special attention. In general, colourless, blue and green rPET is re-introduced to the preform manufacturers.
Companies using rPET-containing preforms are still pioneers in the Hungarian market, but the commitment of these companies to environmental protection and sustainability is shown by the fact that they have been prioritizing the use of rPET for many years. Among the soft drink manufacturers, Márka Soft Drink stands out, which, taking a pioneering role, already uses 30% rPET in its bottles, so it already meets the regulations of 2025.
Own sewage treatment plant
Wastewater from the production technology of our soft drinks is treated biologically directly at our site, with the help of microorganisms. In aerobic (oxygen presence) purification processes, the controlled activity of microorganisms is used to the decomposition of organic matter. The resulting purified "wastewater" can already be released into an agricultural irrigation canal and discharged for further use.
The beginnings
Márka is one of the oldest Hungarian soft drinks, a real Hungarian patent: from Hungarian fruit ingredients, based on the recipes of inventors dr. Miklós Kállay and Péter Sárkány, the first product was made in 1973. The first grape flavoured Márka soft drink was bottled in the Southern Great Plain Cellar Farm, and in the following years the production of Márka soft drinks with different flavours was started in other cellar farms of the country. Over the last 43 years, a lot has clearly changed - the locations of bottling, the product range, not least consumer society and its customs. In 2007, the distribution of Márka Soft Drinks became an exclusive and family business as well, at which time Márka Üdítőgyártó Kft. started the “building” according to its own, new plans:
A series of very thoughtful and considered strategic steps are needed to minimize the risk factors inherent in a marked shift. In addition, of course, we considered long-term planning, step-by-step and mostly innovative construction to be important, and still do today, so that the existing, stable foundation is not damaged but preserved.
Our philosophy
Few can say about themselves in the FMCG market, which is very rich in international players, that it is a 100% Hungarian, family business, owning a strong and distinctive brand with a tradition and a decades-long history, where tradition and innovation are both and equally important. It is important that we wish to pass on value, value system and value trend as well with each bottle filled by us to our Commercial Partners and Consumers.
Our message
What we want to convey with our products and communications is a message of personality and trust. With Márka, we personify the common, positive set more and more focused, step by step, that is common and present in every generation, in every type of person: the true, good friend. We are happy for him and with him even when we live the moments we share and even when we are just recalling them. It is an extra pleasure to be with us for decades. Every encounter is an experience. We know him well, yet he can always offer something new; we believe and trust in him as he does in us; we can draw strength from him, with his mere presence he can support and encourage us.
Our innovations
We recognized early on, that the most important and at the same time the most powerful trends, in other words, the expectations of consumers in this category are the following: quick and easy refreshment, variety, and slowly but surely health awareness, including now low calorie content as well. One of the driving forces behind the expansion of our portfolio has been, and still is, the fact that the range of our consumers has been very heterogeneous since the beginning, which we want to strengthen but also expand. Currently, in addition to the classic fruit-flavoured carbonated soft drinks, our fruit juices and ice teas are also becoming more and more successful. We believe, that with the increase in demand, continuous improvements and thus more and more diverse product categories will coincide. Beyond the health factor, our innovations always focus on the latest consumer needs, namely it should have a refreshing effect, it should have a positive experience for the consumer, and last but not least, it should fit into his lifestyle, within which even into his weight control program.
Last but not least, since we are talking about quite impulsive product ranges, the appearance, the quality of the packaging and the display of Márka’s values play an important role on the shelves as well. Thus, we place great emphasis on the fact, that our products convey our messages with their appearance, we also use the packaging itself 100% as a communication channel - with the renewable bottle shape, new package sizes and updated label designs, brand new slogan.