Ukrainian gastronomy is increasingly entering foreign markets, and the story of the Nezhin Canning Plant shows how a business can survive, restructure, and grow even during wartime. The company already supplies canned vegetables to 26 countries worldwide, with key destinations including France, Germany, the USA, Canada, Australia, the UAE, and Israel.
In April 2026, Belgium was added to the list of countries purchasing products from the Nezhin Canning Plant. Today, exports account for more than half of the company’s vegetable canning sales — about 50–51%.
For the Israeli market, this story is important not only as an example of Ukrainian food exports. It shows that Ukrainian brands are gradually moving beyond the niche of ‘diaspora goods’ and becoming part of the regular shelf in international retail.
How the Nezhin Plant reached 26 countries
The Nezhin Canning Plant is one of the recognizable Ukrainian producers of vegetable canning. Its products have long been associated with pickled cucumbers, traditional flavors, and Ukrainian processing, but in recent years the company has become an example of a broader story: how Ukrainian business seeks new markets after losing old ones.
Until 2014, a significant portion of foreign sales was linked to Russia and Belarus. These directions provided up to 60% of the company’s exports. After the start of Russian aggression against Ukraine in 2014, these markets were effectively lost, and the plant had to rebuild its export model.
The company began to look more actively towards Europe, North America, the Middle East, and other regions.
A new blow came in 2022 when Russia’s full-scale invasion began. Nezhin was blockaded, and the company was able to resume operations only after de-occupation. Meanwhile, fields in the Kakhovka region, which were part of the raw material base, were occupied.
This created several problems at once: where to get raw materials, how to maintain supply stability, how to convince foreign partners that a Ukrainian producer can fulfill contracts even during war.
Why stability is important for Europe
For large European chains, price and taste are important, but that’s not enough. Retail looks at the reliability of the supplier: can they deliver goods on time, is there certification, is quality maintained, is the manufacturer ready to work according to the network’s standards.
In this sense, the Nezhin plant gained a strong argument not through loud promises, but through resilience.
Company representatives openly say: European partners read news about the war and fear supply disruptions. But when they see a manufacturer who does not ask for pity, does not shift responsibility to circumstances, but offers normal business cooperation, the level of trust changes.
This is where Ukrainian exports begin to be perceived differently. Not as temporary support for a country at war, but as a normal commercial category with a clear price, quality, and logistics.
Germany became the main market, Israel — an important direction
The main export market for the Nezhin Canning Plant today is Germany. It accounts for about 20% of all the company’s foreign sales.
This is especially indicative because the German market is considered one of the most difficult in Europe. There is tough competition, strong discounters, demanding networks, and a pragmatic buyer who rarely pays just for a beautiful brand story.
If Ukrainian products are established in such conditions, it speaks not only of nostalgia or support for Ukraine. It is already a matter of price, quality, stability, and the ability to work with the shelf.
Israel also occupies a significant place among key markets in this story. For a country with a large community of Ukrainian immigrants, this is logical, but the potential is broader. Ukrainian products can be of interest not only to repatriates from Ukraine but also to a wider Israeli consumer — especially if it is a familiar product, familiar taste, and competitive price.
NANews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency considers such stories as part of a broader connection between Ukraine and Israel: it’s not just about politics, war, and diplomacy, but also about trade, products, business, and the real presence of Ukrainian brands in everyday life.
Price, raw materials, and quality control
One of the factors of success for the Nezhin plant is its own raw material base. It gives the company several advantages at once: lower purchase cost, more control over vegetable quality, and less dependence on market fluctuations.
Ukrainian producers often maintain competitive positions due to lower costs for labor, land, agro-raw materials, and certain production processes. This allows them to compete in the mid-price segment and not lag behind European producers in quality.
But price alone does not solve everything.
If the product is cheaper but supplies are unstable, a large network will not build a long-term strategy on it. Therefore, for NCZ, it became important to combine several factors: own raw materials, restored logistics, certification, work with distributors, and constant brand promotion abroad.
Ukrainian brand or private label: what is more profitable in foreign markets
For many Ukrainian producers, the easiest way to enter European retail remains private label — producing products under the network’s own brand. This is a quick way to the shelf because European supermarkets actively develop such lines.
But this model has a weak spot. The manufacturer remains under constant price pressure from the network and develops its own recognition worse.
The Nezhin Canning Plant focuses on promoting products under the Ukrainian brand ‘Nizhyn’. This is more difficult and expensive at the start, but in the long run, it provides more stability, margin, and brand value.
Experts believe that for most companies, a combined strategy becomes the most reasonable. First, the manufacturer can enter through private label or contract manufacturing, and then gradually strengthen its own brand.
International exhibitions and product adaptation
Another element of success is physical presence at international exhibitions. For the Nezhin plant, platforms like Anuga have become a tool not just for presentation, but for securing partnerships.
The company also works through an exclusive distribution model to avoid price wars between partners in one country.
Product adaptation to the market is of particular importance. Different countries require different approaches to recipes, tastes, packaging, and logistics. What sells well in Ukraine does not always automatically work in Germany, France, Israel, or Canada.
That is why export today is becoming not an additional sales channel, but a full-fledged business development model.
Ukraine sells abroad not only raw materials but also products with added value. This brings foreign exchange earnings to companies and the country, strengthens the presence of Ukrainian brands in international markets, and helps businesses not depend on a single domestic demand.
The story of the Nezhin Canning Plant shows that even after a blockade, loss of part of the raw material base, and destruction of previous export routes, the company can restructure. For Ukraine, this is an example of economic resilience. For Israel, it is another confirmation that Ukrainian products are increasingly becoming part of the international market, including the Middle Eastern one.