The relocation story of snEco brand from Kharkiv: business temporarily halted

With the start of the full-scale invasion, many Ukrainian entrepreneurs had to flee the war, leaving behind not only their homes but also businesses they had built for years. Some had even worse luck — their production was destroyed by russia. The brand also faced problems snEco from Kharkiv. At first the company didn't have access to the necessary equipment, since everything remained on the territory of a former Soviet plant, and then russian shells hit their workshop.

However, the entrepreneurs didn't give up and decided to start everything from scratch in another corner of the country. The business successfully relocated and now produces its products in Mukachevo. snEco co-founder Vadym Hryshyn told MC.today about this as part of the special 'Relocated' project.

Info! Brand snEco (Prime Snack LLC) was founded by brothers Pylyp and Vadym Hryshyn. The basis for the eco-snacks was technology invented by NASA in the 1970s for providing astronauts with healthy food – product dehydration.

So in 2016, a new product called snEco appeared in Ukraine. The producer invented and patented a unique low-temperature drying technology that makes the snack healthy and natural, with only 100% cheese in the composition. Their hallmark is that such snacks can be stored even without refrigeration.

Russia's full-scale invasion led to a temporary halt of the business and a disruption of supply and sales chains. At first there was shock, but then came the realisation that our production facilities were located on the territory of a former Soviet plant.

There was no access to the equipment for almost a month, and right after we managed to evacuate part of the equipment – a missile simply hit our workshop. Then we realised that enterprises are among the primary targets for russian missile strikes. Due to the fighting, we lost both finished products stored at the enterprise and raw materials — several tons of high-quality cheese.

The production became a facility closed off for further civilian use. So our shock doubled. Then there were lengthy negotiations and attempts to get in there to retrieve something.

Almost immediately after the start of the invasion it became clear that working 'normally' in the Kharkiv region would not be possible for a long time. With many adventures, we evacuated some of the equipment, but the most important question was — to rebuild in Ukraine or abroad. Patriotic thoughts won and we gradually resumed operations near the western border of Ukraine.

However, logistics problems began here — moving anything anywhere was very difficult, prices grew 5-10 times in a few days. There was great chaos that penetrated different areas of our lives.

How and where they managed to relocate the business

Relocation took place in several stages: first the founders and part of the staff, then the remaining products and raw materials, and finally part of the equipment. We decided to move to Mukachevo. At that time we understood that export was our only option for survival. We also chose Mukachevo because it's the most remote and calmest region.

Unfortunately, we couldn't keep the entire team — some employees left Ukraine. We continued paying salaries for some time and stayed in touch, helped where we could. Over these two years, our team has been renewed by 50-70%.

Will we return to Kharkiv? We don't have such plans for now. Especially since the city is located 30 kilometres from the border with the aggressor, so during the war it's impossible.

Who helped with relocation? At first we did everything on our own, since at that time there were no help programs. We transported everything by our own transport and even Nova Poshta trucks.

Then we discovered grants and other opportunities.

• We received a grant for the construction of a solar power station from IOM, the International Organization for Migration, a UN division. Later, the state also gave a grant for relocation.
• And we recently received a grant from USAID

• for equipment and expanding our production capacity. Thanks to this funding, we are increasing our production volumes for product exports.

We managed to launch the enterprise in August 2022. Thanks to grant funds we purchased raw materials — fresh cheese, from which finished products were later made. The microgrant also allowed us to pay for premises rental, taxes, and salaries to employees. This was the first step toward full recovery, which is still ongoing.

How business is growing after relocation

We are now growing even faster than before russia's full-scale invasion. We've already discovered new opportunities in Ukraine and on foreign markets.

In particular, we are the first company in Zakarpattia to receive permission to export dairy products to the EU, and we also supply goods to Japan, the USA, and other countries. And on every package the Ukrainian flag flies proudly — because we are proud of snEco's country of origin!

Our brand also distributes products throughout Ukraine. As recently as 2022, we weren't present in many grocery chains. Now our products are at Varus and Novus, and in May we 'entered' ATB — the largest chain, and we're still in the trial stage. We hope ATB will roll out our products to all 1,200+ stores.

Our new product is sold there — Superfood and Cheddar. Look for the new stylish black packaging on the shelves alongside our classic kraft — after a recent restyling!

More on https://mc.today/uk/u-nash-tseh-buv-prilit-biznes-timchasovo-zupinivsya-istoriya-relokatsiyi-brendu-sneco-z-harkova