The USAID project “Investments for business sustainability” provided $2 million to one of the leaders of the Ukrainian pet products market, Suziria Group, which will invest $4.5 million in the project thanks to loans from Ukrainian banks and its own resources and will increase its production capacity, according to the release of the donor organization .
“Grant funding is provided as part of the Project’s support of Ukrainian enterprises affected by the war. The funds received will enable Suziria Group to start its own production of wet food for pets in Kalush, in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, where after the missile attacks on Kharkiv it moved the production of grain feed and where it began to produce meat treats for dogs and cats. At the same time, part of the production facilities in Kharkiv continues to work,” the message emphasizes.
Thanks to the launch of a new line for the production of wet food for pets, Suziria Group will be able to increase production capacity, create 130 new jobs and significantly reduce the cost of production.
The company plans to use the increase in production to expand market share, as well as to strengthen cooperation with Ukrainian suppliers of raw materials and key retail chains, for which it will produce wet pet food under their own trademarks.
“Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine and the devaluation of the national currency negatively affected the company’s work. All this prompted us to review the business model and bet on the development of our own production facilities in the west of the country,” explained Suziria Group co-owner Polina Kosharna.
“Despite the constant shelling of Kharkiv and the loss of some stores in the temporarily occupied territories, Suziria Group did not stop, but continues to develop, adapting to new realities. The launch of modern production, the creation of additional jobs, and in the future, access to new foreign markets will contribute to the economic recovery of Ukraine and the growth of the GDP level, which will benefit both the company and the country in general,” said the deputy head of the USAID project “Investments for Business Sustainability Yuliya Vitka.
Suziria Group’s wet pet food is currently produced at partner facilities in EU countries. The development of its own production will allow it to gradually abandon the import of this product category and expand the geography of sales. In three years, Suziria Group plans to start exporting wet food for pets to the European market, the donor organization explained.
Suziria Group is a Ukrainian family group of companies that has been developing the pet products market for over 30 years. It includes the companies Suziria Brands, Suziria Distribution, the chain of pet stores MasterZoo, which has 190 stores, as well as a chain of grooming salons. The company operates throughout the territory of Ukraine and abroad, exports its own products under the Savory, Half&Half, Special One, Pet Fashion, Buddy Boo, Priroda, Puramur brands.
