The first National Stand of Ukrainian dairy companies at ANUGA - QFTP

For the first time, the Ukrainian dairy sector had its own national stand at one of the largest food exhibitions in the world — Anuga. On October 7-11, six Ukrainian dairy companies had the opportunity to exhibit their products at one of the world’s largest food exhibitions — Anuga, which takes place every two years in Cologne, Germany. Anuga is not only the world’s largest food and beverage exhibition, but also is a platform for the exchange of knowledge and experience in the food industry. This year, the exhibition exceeded all forecasts, bringing together about 140,000 visitors from 200 countries and about 7,900 exhibitors from 118 countries. International representation among exhibitors reached an impressive 94%, and among visitors — a record 80%. This year, the following companies presented their products at the Ukrainian stand:

KOMO and CHEESE CLUB LLC,
Dairy Company Galychyna LLC,
Loostdorf Ltd,
Molokija TM (Ternopil Dairy Factory PrJSC),
Khorol Infant Nutrition Factory LLC,
Prime Sneck Ltd (SNECO).

Despite the small number of businesses represented, the product line was impressive:

the best representatives of the fresh dairy category,
leaders in the production and export of hard and semi-hard cheeses,
baby food,
powerful producers of dairy commodities (milk powder, butter, casein, whey powder),
unique cheese snacks,
producers of plant-based milk alternatives,
organic dairy products (Organic Milk represented Ukraine at another national stand at the Anuga Organicpavilion).

Therefore, even experienced consumers of Ukrainian dairy products could learn a lot, not to mention companies and countries that are not familiar with our range. As an example, the “neighbors” from the Polish dairy stand recognised during a scheduled meeting with our business that Ukraine not only imports Polish milk, but also knows how to produce its own high-quality and attractive products. The national stand in the Dairy Pavilion was also Ukraine’s “window” for operators from all over the world, where representatives of various companies could not only get acquainted with the excellent range of dairy products available and communicate with representatives of exhibiting companies, but also express their support for Ukrainians and Ukrainian business. Thus, it was a great pleasure to have visitors from the European Dairy Traders Association (Eucolait) to familiarise themselves with and taste Ukrainian products. In addition, all Ukrainian companies that visited us had the opportunity to use the booth space for meetings with their international partners. Anuga is also a leading international industry event that not only captures trends, but also educates companies, focusing their attention on the future of the food sector. Visitors had the opportunity to join side events throughout the exhibition, the dairy pavilion, or even the Ukrainian stand, where the organisers planned thematic business events with international traders to expand knowledge and acquire practical skills to effectively promote Ukrainian goods to foreign markets. Speaking about the general trends of this year’s Anuga, the topic of sustainable development was top of the agenda. The coronavirus pandemic, russian aggression in Ukraine, inflation, and the energy crisis over the past 3 years have completely changed the way international companies view this topic, and they are still trying to rethink and modify existing challenges with new approaches to nutrition and innovation. As for the existing noticeable trends in the dairy industry, after getting acquainted with the participants of the pavilion (and this year it had 446 stands), the following trends can be identified:

High content of milk fat in products (as opposed to the focus on low-fat products 5-8 years ago). Fat matters!
Attention to plant-based milk alternatives with a focus on yogurt and cheese. Not just beverages.
International traders are focusing on products made with a sustainable approach to business, even if we are talking about classic commodities. They are willing to pay a premium.
The trend for kefir in the EU is still relevant. Both pure and with fillers.

In general, in the context of the war and related logistical problems, Ukrainian dairy companies have more limitations in their export geography than advantages. Nevertheless, the current difficulties motivate businesses to transform more actively and be as flexible as possible. The speed of response to changes should be one of Ukraine’s competitive advantages, so analysing future customer needs is extremely important and only possible at global events like this year’s Anuga. In addition, a small subjective list of dairy-related successful ideas that are already being implemented or can be implemented in Ukraine to generate exports with higher added value:

Organic dairy products in the EU (implemented)
Dairy and cheese snacks (implemented)
“Vegi” spreads to the EU and the Middle East (under implementation)
Plant-based milk alternatives to Poland
Powdered milk mixes fortified with vitamins and/or vegetable fats
Production of UHT milk and cheeses under the brand name of international companies, not under the retail brand.

* The National Stand of Ukraine at the pavilion “Dairy products” at Anuga 2023 is organised by the State Institution «Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office» (EEPO) in framework of the Ukrainian national project Diia.Business and in partnership with the public organisation «United Ukraine» under the patronage of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine. Switzerland provides support through the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) within the framework of the Swiss-Ukrainian Program “Higher Value Added Trade from the Organic and Dairy Sector in Ukraine” (QFTP) implemented by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL, Switzerland) in partnership with SAFOSO AG (Switzerland). Source – news on INFAGRO (Ukr.).