Demand for “ready-to-eat” products in the Metro Cash & Carry chain of shopping centers has grown due to a shortage of staff among professional customers and limited time for food preparation among end consumers due to power outages, according to the chain’s CEO Olena Vdovychenko.
“For professional customers, the growth in demand for ready-made products is due to the fact that they have a severe shortage of staff, as many young people left after 18-24-year-olds were allowed to leave the country. Support for small and medium-sized businesses is very important because HoReCa (Hotel-Restaurant-Cafe/Catering – IF-U) is very difficult to work with,“ she said during ”EBA Global outlook: Success in Adversity,” organized by the European Business Association (EBA) in Kyiv on Tuesday.
According to her, for the end consumer, the choice in favor of semi-finished products is due to the reduction in time between power outages. At the same time, the “ultra-fresh” category (meat, fish, vegetables, fruit) grew by 20% in hryvnia terms compared to last year (12% in quantitative terms).
“Consumer sentiment has certainly changed over the past four years. Demand is quite restrained, limited to essential goods. Non-food products have declined significantly, and household chemicals are purchased at promotional prices in 80% of cases,” Vdovichenko noted.
She added that the chain is also seeing growth in demand for “psychological anchors”: salty and sweet snacks added 12% in hryvnia, coffee, despite rising prices, added 30%, and liqueurs added 40%.
The company currently works with three groups of customers: the hotel and restaurant business (22% growth), end consumers (19%), and traders (kiosks and small retail stores). According to Vdovichenko, the growth of the latter is insignificant due to the general contraction of the market in connection with the loss of territory and the expansion of large retailers.
As for the situation with electricity at Metro Cash & Carry itself, in order to ensure autonomy, eight shopping centers have established imported power supplies and are installing solar panels. The chain uses artificial intelligence as an auxiliary tool for pattern recognition and has introduced “fastline” scanners for customers to pay for their purchases independently in the app, which also helps to avoid queues and cope with staff shortages.
At the end of 2025, Metro Cash & Carry’s growth was 18% in monetary terms (UAH). For 2026, the company forecasts a figure of 20%, noting that the results for January and February of this year are in line with the plan.
