Market
ROGGENART in Belgrade
Martin Auer is famous for his modern bakeries in Graz. now he has put one of
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Martin Auer VI can look back over an extensive family
history as bakery owners, as every child in and around
Graz knows. But rather fewer know that he is also the entrepreneur behind the ROGGENART bakery chain in Belgrade.
At the same time this scion of the baker dynasty in Graz is
himself allergic to rye. Nevertheless, together with a friend
he financed an experiment in 2008 out of his own pocket and
called into being a bakery in the capital city of Serbia. Today
Roggenart operates nine branches in the city. In contrast to
Martin Auer
There was already a bakery at Dietrichsteinplatz in
Graz, Austria, in 1688. However, it has only become
known as Martin Auer/Auer Brot GmbH since Martin
Auer IV sold his bakery in Slovenia and bought the
one in Graz. Today the business operates 30 branches
in Graz, two in Vienna and one in Klagenfurt. The
grand-son Martin Auer VI graduated in Business Administration in Vienna and did a baker’s apprenticeship and became a Master Baker. The 42-year-old
took over the business two years ago. He aroused attention because, among other things, in 2012 he entirely stopped supplying the retail – which is rather a
matter of course among big chain store operators in
Austria. Since then he has focused his work on making the branches more attractive and on attracting
more customers and thus also more turnover. +++
b a k i n g + b i s c u i t ISSU E 0 1 2 0 1 4
what is usual in Serbia, the product range has a strong rye
flavor, as can easily be seen on www.roggenart.com. The main
customers are embassy staff, expats and members of the current
or former upper class who can afford to pay the distinctly
higher bread prices. The company is now self-supporting
and aims at further expansion in the capital. For Martin
Auer VI, who is not involved in the management of the business, the commitment in Belgrade was a kind of practice
project to gain experience in foreign markets.
However, at present there are no plans for other further experiments in other countries. Auer says: “We have a lot to
do in Graz. The markets are rather crowded.” Since last
autumn his most ambitious project has been situated in the
main square of Graz, a modernized location with a real
bakery. Auer says: “Here we have invested mainly in the
brand, not in the site’s profitability.” Bread is Auer’s guiding
theme: “We can bake a quality that customers cannot obtain
anywhere else. Bread is our USP, and not least bread brings
in the biggest marginal return. That’s why we are making
every effort to hold onto baked goods as a proportion of
sales.” One example of this is the “Brotküche” (bread kitchen)
in one branch, in which customers are shown all the things
that can be done with bread in the daily diet. He keeps the
assortment of snacks rather small in his own branches. Auer
says: “We have no competence in snacks. That’s why we go
only as far as absolutely necessary.” Instead he focuses on
coffee houses at the highest level, of which there are now
four in Graz. +++
© Martin Auer
© Martin Auer
h i s many bake ry i de a s i nto pract ice i n th e S e r b ian c apital
© Martin Auer
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Visit us at booth 4B52.
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