AAylex ONE (Cocorico) Award-winning poultry producer, open for new partnerships, to drive more value creation.
Founder& Chairman
Bogdan Stanca
Romania is home to a lucrative market of 19.2 million consumers and one of the European Union’s (EU) largest cities by population – Bucharest. Over the past year, Romania’s stable FDI and EU funding flow and minimal exposure to Ukrainian and Russian markets have gifted it economic resiliency and a robust platform for future growth.
One of Romania’s most competitive economic sectors is its poultry industry. In March this year alone, Romania slaughtered over 27 million birds – an 8% year-over-year increase – the majority of which in specialised industrial units, according to its National Institute of Statistics (INS).
With more than four decades of industry experience, AAylex ONE is Romania’s largest poultry exporter, with its 100% natural feed award-winning chicken brand Cocorico, now the preferred choice for millions of consumers worldwide. Cocorico, The All-Natural Chicken Brand won Piața’s ‘Best new product in the meat category’ award in 2020 and last year received the ‘George G. Assan’ trophy for the ‘Romanian Brand of the Year’, being as well nominated in the specific competitions of world food innovations in London, Milan, or Paris.
As Romania opened its economy in the 1990’s, its markets became flooded with low-quality imports. AAylex founder, Bogdan Stanca set up its company to offer premium value-added products, unavailable on the domestic market. “We built the company step-by-step and always maintained ONE vision: to offer top quality products, natural food, that I would offer to my children and the generations to come” says Stanca. In 2008, AAylex invested over EUR 60 million to expand its operations and strengthen its vertical and horizontal integration, including optimising its slaughterhouse – now the most modern and compact in Europe, with the shortest supply chain, ensuring the constant quality of its products. Many investments followed (> 50 million euro only in the past 3 years) for improving its chicken feed and breeding capabilities, creating innovative 100% clean label chicken products, within 2 new state- of – the art plants, producing chicken sausages, pastrami, and baked ranges, all ready-to-eat natural products.
Over the years, AAylex ONE’s turnover has grown from EUR 24 million to EUR 226 million. However, not only profit is what drives the company. Ensuring Cocorico’s products are healthy, delicious, and, most importantly, superior quality, has been the key to its success and lies at the heart of its corporate identity. Following the even beyond ‘farm to fork’ approach, starting with its natural genetics, all Cocorico products are sustainably made, non-GMO, additives and preservative-free, and meet the strictest international standards, including certifications by global leader SGS. Cocorico chickens are raised on 100% natural feed and are allowed to move freely within their farm, laying on natural straw sheets.
Stanca believes consumers deserve affordable, sustainably produced healthy food, which is why the company’s price-effective solutions, such as the innovative “Portions”, were designed to encourage the consumption of fresh products, with a healthy-nutritive profile and to reduce the food-waste through its unique packs. Cocorico also operates a ‘no touch’ system, which means the consumer of its all-natural Cocorici sausages is always the first to touch its products, when opening the pack; together with the other ready-to-eat specialties, such as Pastrami or Baked, all the products are appreciated for their great taste and versatile usage, reducing resources waste.
Currently, 30-40% of Cocorico products are exported to international markets, boosted in recent years by a successful, differentiating rebranding, conducted by the world’s largest independent design company, based in London. “It’s difficult to enter European markets as a Romanian brand – as each country has its own challenges. Now we’re all over Europe, including England,” says Stanca, who believes there is still lots of potential for further global expansion. AAylex ONE is currently open to joint ventures and partnerships with companies in Romania or abroad, to contribute to scaling the business in new markets worldwide.
“We have the technology, innovation, and specialists to go global. We’re constantly looking at ways to grow and diversify our capacity, including with European projects. With our assets, the possibilities are endless. I appreciate a partner that wants to be involved in our business, and is not only seeking high, fast returns. My priorities are trust and stability,” says Stanca.
As Romania’s main horizontally and vertically integrated healthy food company, having a strong focus on achieving the full capacity in the new factories with innovative “Clean Label- All Natural chicken products”, AAylex ONE represents a unique, high-potential investment opportunity.
AAylex ONE is also working towards becoming the first waste-free Romanian food company, having previously invested in establishing the first biogas unit within Southeast Europe’s poultry industry. “Through our business with renewable energy, with the right partner and investments in a win-win approach, we can become a significant player also in this field.” says Stanca.
Romanian companies like AAylex ONE embody everything the country has to offer the world, as well as a massive opportunity many investors should take advantage of. “Plenty of people have no idea about Romania, even though we have very good laws on taxation for a stable emerging country in Europe, spectacular natural resources and immense economical potential” says Bogdan Stanca.