In 2025, Nestlé fully implemented its investment plan in Ukraine in the amount of UAH 9.5 billion and intends to increase capital investments in its new production site in Smoligov (Volyn region) to EUR70 million by the end of 2027, said Alessandro Zanelli, CEO of Nestlé in Ukraine and Southeast Europe, in a column for NV.
“At the beginning of the year, I announced that we planned to invest about UAH 9.5 billion in Ukraine, and we have fulfilled this forecast. In 2025, we achieved approximately double growth,” he wrote.
Zanelli named the launch of a new factory in Smoligov in April 2025 as a key industrial project of previous years. The initial investment in the facility amounted to EUR 43 million, but the company plans to expand its capacity. By the end of 2027, the total investment in this site is expected to reach EUR 70 million. The factory’s design capacity will allow it to produce 40,000 tons of vermicelli per year, which will be exported to Europe, the US, and Mexico.
Zanelli specified that production in Smoligov is highly automated, which allows for twice as few staff, but requires more highly skilled workers. To this end, the company has opened its own production academy.
In addition to industrial and commercial investments, Nestlé has allocated nearly $18 million to the Ukraine, WeCare program, which focuses on the safety, physical, and mental health of employees (excluding the cost of setting up shelters). The company also invests around EUR10 million annually in modernizing and improving the quality of its existing production facilities.
The CEO of Nestlé in Ukraine also announced that he will be moving to the position of head of the company’s Eastern European division in 2026 and leaving the Ukrainian office.
Nestlé began operations in Ukraine in 1994 with the opening of a representative office. In 1998, it acquired a controlling stake in ZAO Lviv Confectionery Factory Svitloch, and since 2018, it has owned 100% of the company’s shares. In May 2003, Nestlé Ukraine LLC was founded in Kyiv, and at the end of the same year, Nestlé became the owner of 100% of the shares of Volynholding.
In 2010, Nestlé SA acquired Technocom LLC in Kharkiv, a manufacturer of instant products under the Mivina trademark. In 2012, Nestlé Business Service (NBS Europe) was established in Lviv, which is one of seven Nestlé service centers in the world and provides support services to Nestlé divisions in more than 40 countries around the world.
Nestlé’s business in Ukraine is represented by the following areas: coffee and beverages, confectionery, culinary products (cold sauces, seasonings, soups, instant foods), baby and special nutrition, ready-made breakfasts, and pet food.
