Grant to Suziria Group

Suziria Group, one of the leading companies in the Ukrainian pet supplies market, has announced in a press release that the USAID Investment for Business Resilience Activity (IBR) has signed a 2 mio dollar grant agreement with the company.  Under the terms of the agreement, the company will co-invest an additional 4.5 mio dollars through loans from Ukrainian banks and its own funds. The grant will enable Suziria Group to open a new production facility for wet pet food in the city of Kalush in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.

Suziria Group receives the grant as part of IBR's objective to support companies in Ukraine affected by the war. After a rocket attack damaged its warehouse in Kharkiv, the Suziria Group relocated the production of grain feed to Kalush. New facilities for the production of treats for dogs and cats were also built at this new location. In the meantime, some production units continue to operate in Kharkiv.

"Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine and the devaluation of the national currency affected the company's activities. All of this has led us to rethink our business model and focus on developing our own production facilities in the west of the country. We are grateful to IBR and the partner banks. Our cooperation shows that all parties are committed to Ukraine's victory and are ready to invest in developing competitive businesses and supporting the Ukrainian economy," said Polina Kosharna, co-owner of Suziria Group. With the support from IBR and the launch of a new wet pet food production line, Suziria Group will be able to increase its own production capacity in Ukraine, create 130 new jobs, and significantly reduce its production costs.

„Despite the constant shelling of Kharkiv and the loss of some of its businesses in the temporarily occupied territories, the Suziria Group has not stood still, but continues to grow and adapt to the new circumstances. The commissioning of modern production facilities, the creation of new jobs and, in the long term, access to new external markets will contribute to Ukraine's economic recovery and GDP growth, which will benefit both the company and the country as a whole," said Yulia Vitka, Deputy Director of IBR.

Currently, the Suziria Group relies on the production of wet pet food in partner companies in EU countries. Building its own new production capacity will allow the company to phase out imports of this product category and expand its sales area. The Suziria Group plans to utilise this expanded production to increase its market reach and work with local raw material suppliers to meet growing consumer demand. The manufacturer also intends to work more closely with key Ukrainian retailers to produce private label wet pet food for them. In three years, Suziria Group plans to start exporting its wet pet food products to the European market.