(within the frame of the Grant Programme in the Organic Sector supported by Switzerland)
About the company
Stodola LLC is a Ukrainian producer of certified organic products from Mykolaiv region, founded in 2014. The company has 5 hectares of land for organic production, and also cooperates with other farms that grow organic products to Stodola’s order.
The company specialises in cultivation and processing of organic vegetables, seeds, and higher value-added products and is well known on the Ukrainian market as a producer of organic preserves and healthy food. Stodola TM is represented in the national retail chains and speciality stores and is actively developing exports of its products.
Traditionally, the company’s production was seasonal, which is typical for the vegetable processing business. This created a number of challenges, such as uneven capacity utilisation, fluctuations in cash flow, and staff losses during autumn and winter periods. In response to these challenges, Stodola’s team began looking for solutions that would allow them to move to a more stable, year-round model.
One of these solutions was development of a new line of functional organic snacks — products focused on modern consumer trends and demand for healthy eating.
Support within the Grant Program and achievements
Stodola LLC received a grant within the Grant Program in the Organic Sector to support the launch of a new line of functional organic snacks. The line was created in collaboration with professional nutritionists and was aimed at preventing the so-called ‘diseases of civilisation’, i.e., high blood pressure, overweight, high cholesterol, and reduced immunity.
Significant preparatory work had already been done before the project was launched: recipes had been developed, production technology had been refined, necessary equipment had been purchased, regulatory documentation and test packaging mock-ups had been prepared. Tastings in retail chains and speciality stores provided positive feedback and confirmed the potential of the functional organic snack line.
The grant support allowed moving from the test phase to a full-fledged market launch. Within the project the company finalised the packaging design and brought it in line with the requirements of food labelling legislation, ordered the first industrial run of packaging, and launched a marketing campaign to bring the new line to market. The project allowed optimising production costs and shipping finished products to retail chains on time and in full.
Stodola LLC has launched a new category of organic snacks, made its first sales, and gained practical experience in launching an innovative product. In addition, it has begun transition from seasonal production to year-round operation. This, in particular, allowed converting two seasonal jobs into permanent ones.
Plans for the future
Stodola LLC plans to further expand its range of products with a year-round production cycle and gradually move to more profitable products. In the medium term, Stodola is considering expanding its range of functional snacks, increasing sales on the domestic market, and developing its export business.
Advice from the founder
Yan Ostrovskyi: “Organic business seems to be more operationally difficult to build in the early stages, it requires more knowledge, effort and funding, and has a seemingly narrow audience. But all these are compensated by the results achieved in the future — a stable place on the market, a quality product, partners interested in cooperation, and grateful consumers in Ukraine and abroad. Be persistent and proactive, look for new growth opportunities every day, and organic production will become your life’s passion.”
* Grant Program in the Organic Sector is funded by Switzerland and implemented within the framework of
- the project “Women Entrepreneurship in the Organic Sector” (WEOS) implemented by ICO “Information Center “Green Dossier” in partnership with Organic Initiative Public Association, and
- the Swiss-Ukrainian Programme “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).