ProCheese Awards and QFTP Launch a Empowerment Programme for Craft Cheesemakers in Ukraine
As part of the ProCheese Awards 2025 cheese art festival, the organisers are launching a new initiative in collaboration with the Swiss-Ukrainian Programme “Higher Value Added Trade from the Organic and Dairy Sector in Ukraine” (Quality FOOD Trade Programme, QFTP).
The main goal is to empower small Ukrainian cheesemakers by helping them reach a new level of visibility and placetheir brands on the national cheese map.
“We see many talented cheesemakers who remain under the radar due to a lack of resources or knowledge about promoting their products. That’s why, in collaboration with QFTP, we are launching an empowerment programme to provide small producers with real tools for growth,” say the organisers.
What does the programme include?
1) Cheesemakers’ Marketing School — a series of online lectures designed to help small producers enhance their skills in marketing, customer communication, brand building, and preparation for participation in events.
2) Grant to participate in the ProCheese Awards festival, — based on the results of the Marketing School, 20 craft producers will be selected to receive:
- a free stand at the ProCheese Awards cheese market, where they can showcase and sell their products;
- free entry for up to three cheeses into the national ProCheese Awards 2025 competition.
Priority for free participation in ProCheese Awards will be given to:
- producers who have official documents confirming compliance with food safety and quality standards and are officially registered in Ukraine as food business operators;
- veteran-owned businesses;
- producers from regions most affected by the war: Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Sumy, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts;
- those entering their cheeses into national or international competitions for the first time.
To join the programme, fill out the registration form on the organisers’ website.
