The tradition was started by the grandfather of László Bárány Sr., who opened its business in 1907 and soon became the poultry supplier of the noble Széchenyi family. This explains the company’s motto: “Quality is a 100-year-old tradition at our company”. László Bárány Sr’s two sons, László Jr and Péter represent the fourth generation of the tradition.
Today, father and sons manage a group of companies: two agrarian, two food processing and a service enterprise, which employ a total of 1,200 people and expect to have 21-22 billion HUF sales income in 2006.

Steady Prospects with an English Partner

Master Good Kft itself has two plants.
“In the Kisvárda plant, fresh and frozen chickens are produced with state-of-the-art technology, thanks to an 800-million-HUF development project. Our logistic sub-centres in Budapest and Békéscsaba enable us to provide 80% of the country with fresh poultry on a daily basis,’ says László Bárány Sr proudly.
The Group operates a poultry processing plant in Petneháza, which has recently been transformed into a so-called multiprotein plant, which means that in addition to chicken, duck, turkey, goose and pork chop are also processed there. The sales income of this plant is expected to be 3.5 billion HUF this year. Next year, beef and lamb will be added to the range. The expansion of the product range is made possible by a long-term partnership contract with an English food manufacturer. The partnership provides opportunities for joint product development and secures export markets, which are prospects many Hungarian enterprises dream of. Master Good expended a great deal of efforts to make this dream come true: the Group operates the country’s only real and full-scale integration in the field of broiler production. The Group grows wheat and corn on 5,500 hectares of land, manufactures 100 thousand tonnes of feed, and 23 million chickens of 200 thousand parent chickens hatch every year, 60% of which are raised on the Group’s own premises.
In addition to broilers, the Group also produces free-range chicken. The eco- (natural) poultry is distributed under the brand name Red Master and demand for this especially flavourful product is increasing. Master Good is committed to quality and has obtained all major quality assurance certificates: EFSIS, IFS and HACCP are complete with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. The BRC certificate enables the company to export to the English market.
A hundred tonnes of poultry are sold every week to major English supermarket chains, which makes up 90% of the company’s total export. The English export does not only consist of fresh meat but also processed meat products and convenience foods that were developed in the frame of the partnership contract with the English company. All the exported goods are made exclusively from Hungarian ingredients and satisfy even the highest expectations of English customers. Convenience foods include prepared meat products, served on aluminium trays, which need only 30-50 minutes to cook.

„Masterly” Products on the Horizon

Success in the English market gave the company confidence to break into the domestic market of processed meat products as well. Development of the product range began in the second half of this year. Mester Vienna sausage, whose meat content is as high as 79%, is already available, as are Mester poultry sausages in paprika and cheese flavours. It is not only the high meat content that makes the company’s Vienna sausage unique: its four-month shelf life is due to ultra-pasteurization instead of the application of common preservatives. They are available at SPAR, Provera, Auchan and Metro as well as the three domestic supermarket chains. The company is planning to introduce whole ham by the end of the year or January.
“The company’s ‘Mester’ line comprises products that are on the border of medium and top categories,” says László Jr. “In terms of price, they belong to the medium category, while in terms of quality, they belong to the top. In the first half of 2007, we are to introduce another line of processed meat products, which will represent lower prices and average quality. These products will be sold under the brand name “Family Favourite”.
In the first month of the year, the company will launch its breaded poultry line: It will consist of two basic products and two specialities. In the near future, the convenience foods that proved to be successful in foreign markets will be adapted for and introduced to the Hungarian market.
The company, as a member of a consortium, submitted an application for a development project which is being evaluated now. If the application is accepted, the applicants will get financial support to produce traditional Hungarian products from traditional Hungarian raw materials (mangalica pig, grey cattle, homestead chicken, etc.) by using modern technology.
The catering industry also holds great promise for the company. It has contacted the Hajdú-Bihar County Gastronomic Association and according to their agreement, the company financially supports the Association and the Association helps assess the catering industry’s demand for the products. The first fruits of the cooperation are now reaped: Master Good’s snack nuggets will be available in restaurants next year.
And speaking of restaurants: the company was awarded a supply contract by McDonald’s this year, which is not only the recognition of the quality the company’s products represent but also of the fact that no antibiotics and weight-increasers are given to the animals and no genetically modified soy is added to their feed.
Intensified product development does not mean the company forgets about its customers: Master Good’s web-site has been renewed, and a major media campaign of the brand is going to be launched in 2007.

Food Magazine’s special ‘Foodapest’ issue / 21 November 2006