Happy cow: TOP 3 manufacturers of organic dairy products
In terms of consumption, dairy products are in first place among organic products. After all, everyone understands that only natural milk can be helpful. This is when cows eat only organic feed, spend much time in free grazing, and lead a healthy and happy lifestyle. Scientists confirm that happy cows give the most nutritious milk. And then, the manufacturer's task is to deliver it to the consumer in the same, maximally helpful condition.
This year was also difficult for dairy farms. But they managed to preserve livestock and production facilities, create new products, expand sales markets and even win international competitions!
1 place Organic Milk
The trademark has existed for eight years and belongs to "Organic Milk" LLC (Zhytomyr region). The factory became the first in Ukraine to produce only organic dairy products.
The company is one of the largest in Ukraine and Europe 2in organic production. They have a full production cycle and provide their raw materials. The cows consume only organic feed and graze on organic pastures about 200 days a year. All stages of production are certified and under the control of Organic Standard.
They produce milk, kefir, yogurt, butter, sour cream, cheese, sour milk cheese more than 50 items in total. TM is represented in all national retail chains (Silpo, Auchan, Novus), in specialized retail chains (Natur Boutique, Eco Shop, Eco Club), and online stores (Rozetka and others). Products have long been exported to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Jordan. In December 2022, they started exporting a wide range of dairy products to the EU.
2 place Staryi Porytsk
The trademark has been in existence since 2009. The "Staryi Porytsk" farm (Volyn region) has had the status of organic and a certificate of compliance with EU organic standards since 2012 and is under the control of the Organic Standard certification body. Since 2014, a part of the company's products has undergone additional testing according to the private organic standard of Bio Suisse, Switzerland.
The economy of the complete cycle of production. Cows are kept untethered in a modern livestock complex, fed with the balanced natural feed of their show. That's why they are called "happy."
TM produces more than 40 names of the assortment of organic dairy products: hard and salted cheeses, yogurts, butter, kefir, ryazhanka, sour milk cheese, and pasteurized milk of different fat content. Organic semi-finished products have also appeared in the assortment: cheesecakes and lazy dumplings.
Bronze award at the ProCheeseAwards 2022
This year, Staroporytsky Cheddar cheese received a bronze award at the ProCheeseAwards 2022 – the largest cheese competition in Europe! By the way, 4434 pieces of cheese from 42 countries participated in the event. Two hundred fifty international judges evaluated them.
The products are presented in the "Silpo" network and local networks, online health food stores.
3 place EthnoProduct
Products under the trademark are produced by PJSC "EthnoProduct" (Chernihiv region) - a Ukrainian-Swiss agricultural enterprise with a closed production cycle. The brand has existed for 13 years. They produce up to 15 types of dairy products.
Full cycle production. All stages of production are certified and under the control of Organic Standard.
The company's fields and farms are located northeast of the Chernihiv region of Ukraine, where about 570 hectares of organic land are cultivated (pastures, hayfields, arable land), and about 330 heads of cattle are kept. The products are produced at a milk processing plant near Kyiv.
The company was the first in Ukraine to start selling raw, non-homogenized milk in stores and is still a leader in this niche. This is a complex product - it is manufactured according to high technological standards and also has a short shelf life.
The production facilities' territory was occupied from February 24 to April 2. There was no fodder or fuel, but the farm continued its work. Even when the substation was destroyed, and there was no electricity supply, they worked on generators. Milk was distributed free of charge to local people, which helped many people survive during that difficult period. It was impossible to get to Kyiv, the main point of sale, because of the destroyed bridges. The company resumed the milk supply to the capital only in the summer after restoring the bridges over the Desna. Now the enterprise works almost in a pre-war rhythm.
The demand for organic products, especially dairy products, is growing in Ukraine. The company reduced grain exports, concentrated on the domestic market, developed farms and processing, and launched new products.
TM works a lot with retail outlets. GoodWine, Silpo,Velyka Kyshenya, Novus, Auchan, and other products are presented in national chains.
The rating of Ukrainian organic brands/manufacturers in 2022 is organized by the Organic Initiative and Organic Standard in partnership with BrandStory with the support of Switzerland within the framework of the Swiss-Ukrainian program "Development of trade with higher added value in the organic and dairy sectors of Ukraine" (QFTP), implemented by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture ( FiBL, Switzerland) in partnership with SAFOSO AG (Switzerland). The author(s) are solely responsible for the content of this publication. The point of view of the author(s) does not necessarily reflect the point of view of SECO, FiBL, and SAFOSO AG.
Rating formation methodology
The ranking of organic brands was formed in several stages.
Initially, a long list of 50 brands that positioned themselves as organic was compiled. Next, the availability of relevant certificates for the declared products was checked. At this stage, more than half of the applicants were screened out. It turned out that many companies falsely call themselves "organic producers" or have relevant certificates only for certain products but at the same time label all their products as "organic."
There are 30 companies left that work honestly and mark with the word "organic" only those products for which they have the appropriate certificate. Then they were ranked according to three criteria:
Volumes of production and sales - based on the study of the domestic market of organic food products in Ukraine in 2021. The sales volumes of organic production operators under the control of the certification body LLC "Organic Standard" were considered. The share of books of organic products of Ukrainian production for the domestic market of Ukraine certified by the Organic Standard is more than 95%, so this review is representative.
The estimated data presented in the study include the number of organic products sold by operators in the market of Ukraine in 2021.
It also evaluated what results the company has in the current year, 2022. After all, many people ended up in occupation, and production processes and supply chains were interrupted. Not everyone could survive such a "perfect storm," but it became apparent how trustworthy and viable the company was. However, almost all of them not only survived but were able to quickly reorient themselves, change their marketing policy and even expand their assortment.
Representation of brands in trade networks: evaluated by marketing experts based on information provided by trade networks, organic and farm products stores, and manufacturing companies.
Media and PR activity of brands: evaluated based on monitoring results. The number and quality of TM mentioned in the mass media, the number of publications, advertising, and marketing manifestations were considered; representation in social networks: an analysis of the quality of content and activity of company pages, audience reach, and engagement was carried out.
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Inna Pohorielova
Jan 12, 2023
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