Ukrainians believe their success is an expression of solidarity. In fact, Ukrainian alcohol has succeeded in replacing the Russian competition in a US$46.6 billion market. And since February 2022, both consumers and importers have stopped ordering Russian spirits. Of course, there remained vodkas with Russian-sounding names, such as Smirnoff belonging to the British group Diageo or Stolichnaya, which is produced in Latvia. In this situation, Latvians and Polish companies faced strong competition – previously unknown Ukrainian brands appeared. Their production is increasing. Although, understandably, he is constantly experiencing difficulties.
Nemiroff, which is now the most popular Ukrainian brand in Western markets, had to stop production for a month after the war broke out. He has distilleries in the city of Nemiriv, 250 kilometers southwest of Kiev. Production was impossible there because the electricity was regularly cut off due to Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Despite this, the Ukrainians managed to restore supplies and recorded a strong increase in exports, which was only doubled in the case of Great Britain. Nemiroff is currently the third most popular brand of vodka in Duty Free. Only Smirnov and Absolut in front of her.
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Ukrainian producers are convinced that this is the effect of great solidarity with their country and thanks to this they can also support the budget in their country. “We had to face bombing and power outages, but we still managed to produce and export vodka,” Dima Deniga, owner of the Dima brand, told Bloomberg. He shares the remaining profit with charitable organizations operating in Ukraine.
Vodka trade and exports were developing in Ukraine even before the war. This country, like Poland and Russia, belongs to the so-called vodka belt, where alcohol is produced exclusively from rye, potatoes, wheat, triticale, oats, water and yeast. And Poland is a country where production rules are strictly observed.
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