On April 1, Kyiv hosted the Award Ceremony of the seventh independent professional tasting competition Favorite Food & Drinks. The event brought together food retail leaders: representatives of national and regional retail chains, manufacturers and industry experts.
The Favorite Food & Drinks tasting competition has already become a landmark event for the Ukrainian food market. Its goal is to determine the best products by their organoleptic characteristics “blindly” and to promote quality food products. Consumers and business partners can trust the Favorite Food & Drinks awards, as they are awarded exclusively based on the results of an independent evaluation.
“Ukrainian producers offer the world not just safe, high-quality and competitive food products. Ukrainian products are delicious, they are a carrier of cultural heritage, preserve and spread traditions and history. Ukrainians have long served the most delicious food to their guests. Today, Ukrainian producers set global trends and introduce conceptually new products. Favorite Food&Drinks reveals the delicious code of the Ukrainian nation,” said Olena Sinitsyna, founder and organizer of the competition.
5 trends in the food industry
1. Innovative approach: Manufacturers are experimenting with mix products, combining different product groups and unusual ingredients. Example: dairy products with alcoholic beverage flavors for consumers looking for a new experience without alcohol.
2. Healthy food: There is a growing demand for functional products with a combination of traditional recipes and healthy ingredients. The tasting includes kombucha, goat’s milk dairy products, healthy snacks and dried fruit candies.
3. Vegetable proteins: The range of products with vegetable proteins (milk, drinks, snacks) is expanding. The competition includes vegetable cabbage rolls, burger patties and gnocchi.
4. Ready-to-eat food: There is an increased demand for convenient food solutions to save time and reduce waste. Ready-to-eat cereals in retort packets and packaged tea with exotic flavors were popular.
5. Support for local producers: Ukrainians prefer domestic products, especially those from farmers and craft enterprises. A wide range of craft oils, cheeses, and dairy products made in Ukraine are presented at the tasting.
The competition included an organoleptic evaluation of 219 tasting samples in 14 nominations from 39 suppliers.
Results of the competition
Grand Prix: 35 awards
Gold: 143 awards
Silver: 32 honors
Bronze: 5 awards
Withdrawn from tastings – 1 tasting sample
No awards – 3 tasting samples
Prospects and opportunities for participants
The Favorite Food & Drinks competition is not only a prestigious award, but also a platform for brand development and an indispensable tool for the development and improvement of food products According to Anna Tsilnytska, Product Innovation Specialist at Carlsberg Ukraine, the competition opens up new prospects for manufacturers, helping companies, including small craft producers, to make themselves known, and retailers to expand their supplier base.
We invite you to participate!
Favorite Food & Drinks invites producers from all regions of Ukraine, suppliers of imported products to provide tasting samples and participate in the following competitions and receive well-deserved recognition. Look for the Favorite Food & Drinks insignia on product packaging – it is a quality marker confirmed by independent experts.
The best to the table!
Interfax-Ukraine is the official partner of the contest
Communal contracting specialized enterprise for repair and construction of Kharkiv highways “Shlyahrembud” on April 8 announced a tender for the purchase of services of compulsory insurance of civil liability (CMTPL).
According to the message in the system of electronic public procurement ProZorro, the expected cost of purchasing services is UAH 5.319 million. The deadline for submitting proposals is April 16. As reported, last year the winner of a similar tender with a budget of UAH 1.9 million was IC “VUSO”.
Almost 30 applications have been submitted for the contest for the post of chairman of the board of the NEC Ukrenergo, the company’s acting head Oleksiy Brekht said.
“If I’m not mistaken, 28 applications have been submitted for the contest,” Brecht said in comments to Energoreforma after a briefing at the Energy Ministry on Wednesday.
He also confirmed that he too had applied for the contest. According to him, the tender will last for a few more weeks. As reported, the supervisory board of Ukrenergo announced a competition for the position of chairman of the board on February 5, applications were accepted until March 14 inclusive.
Rental rates in the market of commercial space as part of residential complexes in Ukraine have almost reached the pre-war level, but only in hryvnia equivalent, market experts say.
“Rental rates in 2022 sagged by 30-40%, but since the middle of 2023 a gradual stabilization began. Today the rates are close to pre-war indicators, especially in densely populated areas,” Ramil Mehdiyev, CEO of the development company ENSO, told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, the company maintains flexibility of conditions for tenants. For example, there is a possibility of lease with the right to buy out the premises, individual approach to the payment schedule in the first months of business, in particular, the introduction of rent “vacations” for the first months.
Mehdiyev noted that the company reserves 20-30% of commercial space for further management or lease to fill the LCD with necessary services. For the rest of the premises there may be restrictions fixed in the contract, for example, a ban on opening nightclubs, pawnshops or establishments with harmful emissions.
A similar approach is practiced by KAN Development, its press service reported. Thus, the developer leases a certain share of premises to ensure the availability of key services – medical services, pharmacies, grocery stores. Agreements also fix restrictions for types of business, for example, a ban on noisy activities.
More recently, lease agreements are also often supplemented with special clauses that regulate relationships not during power outages or reimbursement of alternative energy costs, said Avalon Chief Operating Officer Jaroslaw Wozniak.
In general, rental rates for commercial lots in the residential complexes depend significantly on the specific object, its location, traffic and functionality, said commercial director of Intergal-Bud Anna Laevskaya. According to her, “Intergal-Bud” leaves in its own rental fund premises with a payback period of up to 12 years.
“In residential complexes with high occupancy the price may be even higher, because the flow of people and cars there is very large,” she explained.
About 50% of commercial premises in Perfect Group’s residential complexes remain in the developer’s ownership, said Alexey Koval, the company’s project manager. At the same time the share may vary depending on a particular residential complex and its location.
He emphasized that although now there are no “anti-crisis” discounts, which were offered to tenants at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the developer still provides loyal rates for the first year of rent with a gradual increase in subsequent years, which is fixed in the contract.
According to Alexander Gorlach, founder of TKN-Consulting, rental rates were as high as 70% of pre-war levels at the end of 2024.
“In fact, rates have now almost recovered in hryvnia, but not in currency. However, commercial real estate in newly settled residential complexes is the most predictable investment. As of the end of 2024 the rates at some landlords were up to 70% of pre-war rates”, – he commented to the agency ‘Interfax-Ukraine’.
According to him, now the rates for commercial premises in the LCD are 800-1.5 thousand UAH/sq. m/month for the most popular format – premises up to 60 sq. m. with active traffic. Premises with inconvenient layout, stairs, low traffic are rented cheaper, for 200-500 UAH/sq. m/month.
The expert noted that today the most active solvent tenants are pharmacy chains and food direction (cafes, pizzerias, etc.), which choose lots with the area of 40-50 square meters. m.
At the same time, some development companies, in particular Alliance Novobud, do not lease commercial premises, but sell them completely.
“We do not lease commercial premises, but sell them. The owners of the space make their own decision on what exactly to do. Usually they study the already available business infrastructure, weigh their possibilities, studying supply and demand,” said Irina Mikhaleva, CMO of Alliance Novobud.
Ukraine’s largest private operator of railway transportation company “Lemtrans” plans to build a container terminal in Fastov (Kiev region), according to the company’s website.
“The terminal in Fastov will be a strategic link in the development of transportation logistics in the region. The project will allow: to optimize logistics chains, expand export opportunities for Ukrainian producers and create conditions for integration of local business into global trade,” said Alexander Tkachuk, director of terminal network development at Levada Cargo.
The company added that in 2024 it invested UAH 478 million in logistics and infrastructure projects – this is three times more than in 2023. The main focus is on the development of terminal and container business, where the amount of investments amounted to UAH 441 million.
Lemtrans Group completed the first phase of construction and opened “Vinnytsia Container Terminal” (KTV) in September 2024.
As reported, the total transportation volume of Lemtrans in 2024 amounted to 15.9 million tons, which is 6% less than in 2023.
Based on the results of activities in 2024, the companies that are part of the Lemtrans group transferred to the budgets of all levels of taxes and fees in the amount of more than UAH 712 million. “Lemtrans” in 2024 transferred to the state budget about 647 million UAH. Local budgets were replenished in the amount of UAH 66 mln. In addition, Lemtrans Group paid more than UAH 59 mln of unified social contribution.
Standard One, a company specializing in Build-to-Rent projects, announced the launch of a new product S1 REIT, which gives the opportunity to become a co-owner of square meters in S1 residential buildings, the company’s press service reports.
“We are the first in Ukraine to create and implement the concept of income houses in Build-to-Rent format. This is a high-class service for tenants and investors. The former get a high-quality living space with hotel service options, the latter – a stable passive income, which does not require involvement in the process of object management. The pilot project of S1 VDNG from 2019 testifies to the success of such a model, because the occupancy rate in the house reaches 99%,” explains CEO of Standard One Sergey Fitel.
According to him, S1 REIT is a step of scaling an existing concept. With a REIT (Real estate investment trust, IF-U), to join the project, one only needs to invest an amount equivalent to the approximate cost of 1 sqm. REIT provides not only an easy entry into the investment, but also, if necessary, a convenient exit. The company also creates a closed community for investors, where they can share experiences.
You can buy square meters for investment in Standard One’s first project – S1 VDNG. Already ready and inhabited by tenants, with almost zero vacancy, allows investors to receive from 8.2% in currency. The S1 Obolon fund is also scheduled to launch soon, with a projected 10% in currency.
“ Real estate investment funds are already on the market, their success confirms the demand for such instruments. While previously a significant amount of money was needed to invest in real estate, this opportunity is now open to many as the investment threshold has become minimal,” adds Fitel.
According to Oleg Bondar, CEO of S1 REIT, liquidity in the project is ensured by high demand for real estate from Standard One. In general, the rental market in Ukraine and especially in Kyiv is quite active, demand is increasing and rental rates are growing. In 2024, the increase in the average rental price of a one-bedroom apartment in the capital amounted to 21% in currency. Under these conditions, investing in real estate for rent becomes even more attractive.
“The potential capacity of the market is huge. Especially in the segment of new quality housing. The better the infrastructure and more advantages a project has – the higher its price. Such objects as S1 provide stable profitability without ‘downtime’,” summarizes CEO Standard One.
S1 is a project of the development company KDD Ukraine, S1 VDNG project has been operating since 2019, with three more projects in the pipeline.
