Nestlé in Ukraine increased its sales in the country by 19.3% in monetary terms (in hryvnia) and by 10% in physical terms in the first half of 2026, while the entire Ukrainian FMCG market in the categories where the company is represented grew by 15% and 6%, respectively, during this period, announced Roman Yanovych, CEO of Nestlé in Ukraine and Moldova.
“This is a signal to invest,” he commented on these results at a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday, explaining that overall, the Nestlé Group increased its sales worldwide in the first half of this year by 3.6%, meaning Ukraine is a growth driver for the company.
According to him, in the first half of 2026, the company invested UAH 5 billion in its operations in Ukraine, of which UAH 200 million went toward developing factories in Ukraine and UAH 4.8 billion toward developing product categories.
“Having invested UAH 5 billion in the first half of the year, we plan to invest a comparable amount to last year, at the level of UAH 10 billion, by the end of 2026 to increase production and maintain the achieved growth momentum,” the CEO said.
He clarified that investments in factory development based on the results of this year should reach UAH 1 billion.
Yanovych specified that a total of 56 thousand tonnes of products were sold. In the confectionery category, sales growth across all market participants in January-June of this year was 18% in hryvnia and 6% in volume; in culinary products, it was 12% and 2%, respectively; in soluble coffee, 16% and 4%; in baby food, 20% and 7%; in other children’s nutrition, 20% and 10%; and in pet food, 20% and 10%.
According to him, the market for capsule coffee is growing particularly fast — by 30% in monetary terms and 16% in physical terms. This market is small, but it has the potential to double or triple further, the CEO noted.
The CEO noted that Nestlé currently holds approximately half of the Ukrainian ketchup market with the Torchin trademark, cocoa with the Nesquik trademark, and a third of the sauce market with the Torchin trademark.
He added that as part of global campaigns in Ukraine, products under the Felix and ProPlan trademarks in the pet food category and KitKat in the confectionery category are currently being actively promoted, while local campaigns promote Svitoch, Torchin, Mivina, Dolce Gusto coffee capsules, and Nesquik.
Additionally, at the briefing, company representatives announced plans to expand the product line in the culinary category this year—which already has more than 100 items—by approximately 20%. At the same time, the “Asian line” is growing at the fastest pace, by 20-25%, while growth in the category of instant noodles in cups is three-digit.
In Yanovych’s opinion, there is potential to improve positions at Svitoch and in the coffee business, where the company has the ambition to rise from second place to first, currently held by Jacobs.
The CEO stated that due to an increase in enemy shelling of warehouses, the issue of logistics is currently priority No. 1, so the company has developed a scheme for a critical situation to deliver goods to supermarket chains directly without involving their distribution centers.
Another problem he named is the labor shortage, which forced the company to increase wages by 30% at one of its enterprises. At the same time, Yanovych indicated that although the company considered options for attracting foreigners, it is still trying to find personnel among Ukrainians.
Yanovych also reported that for the first half of 2026, the amount of charitable assistance exceeded UAH 120 million, and since the beginning of the full-scale war, the company has transferred charitable aid totaling more than UAH 2 billion.
Nestlé began operations in Ukraine in 1994 with the opening of a representative office. In 1998, it acquired a controlling stake in the Lviv Confectionery Factory “Svitoch” CJSC, and since 2018 it has owned 100% of the enterprise’s shares. In May 2003, “Nestle Ukraine” LLC was founded in Kyiv, and at the end of that year, Nestlé became the owner of 100% of the shares of “Volynholding.”
In 2010, Nestlé SA acquired “Technocom” LLC in Kharkiv, a manufacturer of instant products under the Mivina trademark. In 2012, Nestlé Business Service (NBS Europe) was established in Lviv, which is one of seven Nestlé service centers in the world and provides support services to Nestlé divisions in more than 40 countries.
During the war, Nestlé invested EUR 43 million in the construction of its fourth factory in Ukraine—in Smoligiv, Volyn region, for the production of noodles, which opened in April 2025—and plans to increase investments in it to EUR 70 million by the end of 2027.
Nestlé’s business in Ukraine is represented by the following areas: coffee and beverages, confectionery, culinary (cold sauces, seasonings, soups, instant products), baby and special nutrition, breakfast cereals, and pet food.
