Businesses that "rebooted" during the war

According to a survey of enterprises conducted by the Institute of Economic Research and Policy Consulting in June 2022, Ukrainian business is gradually adapting to the war. Although according to statistics, micro business has suffered the most, it has been gradually reviving since June. We have collected a selection of companies that, despite the crisis, continue to lead business in the new military realities. Most of them survived thanks to team unity around a common goal - the Ukrainian economy revival for the benefit of the army and the country.

Marsala brand: tactical "boots" instead of exquisite loafers

Before the war, the Ukrainian brand Marsala was engaged in the production of premium shoes made of cactus leaf leather. The founder of the brand, Kyiv resident Maria Masliy, had been creating bright feminine shoes for 7 years: elegant high-heeled shoes, loafers, sliders, shirts with suprematist motives of Malevich. On February 24, everything changed. The company suspended work for two months, because all the thoughts of its owner were focused on only one thing - saving lives.

Having evacuated to Amsterdam, at first Maria did not have a clear understanding of how to develop the business further. Nobody needed expensive glossy shoes. She also could not find foreign investors, because they were afraid of the brand, in whose country there was a war. But one day, some Ukrainian girl contacted the woman, who was given Marsala boots and a sweatshirt by volunteers during the attack of Russian forces in the Kyiv region. The Ukrainian told that these warm things helped her to survive a month in the occupation and reminded her of her past life.

So, without thinking twice, Maria contacted one of the factories that had evacuated from Kharkiv to western Ukraine and agreed to create a new model of boots for the defenders. These shoes differed from traditional army boots weighing 3 kg, primarily due to the lightness of the materials from which they were made. The cost of the new boots was only 57 dollars, while similar "NATO boots" cost an average of 200 dollars. To raise money for the materials, the brand teamed up with the Kind Challenge Foundation and launched a crowdfunding campaign. The company sewed more than 1000 pairs of military shoes for the collected UAH 1.1 million.

Of course, the brand did not earn anything on this, but according to Maria, the idea of comfortable military shoes may later be transformed into the creation of outdoor shoes for hiking and any outdoor activities. Currently, they are actively looking for distributors in Europe.

Mariupol cafe-bar "0629" in Lviv

Konstantin Ponidelchenko, owner of a Mariupol coffee shop, opened a new café in Lviv, where he evacuated from the shelling with friends and family in March. Having a large experience in the restaurant business, the guys developed the concept of a new institution, found a room in the historic center of Lviv, made repairs and opened an unusual café, which was named by the Mariupol telephone code - "0629". They invested USD 35 thousand in its launch. Although it was scary to risk all investments, the hopelessness of the situation forced the three friends to take a desperate step. And it turned out to be successful. Now the place is very popular because of its uniqueness. Its format differs from traditional Lviv coffee shops. It combines several areas - a dining room where you can have a snack, a café - to relax with a cup of coffee and cakes, and a bar - to sit with friends over a glass of beer after a hard day's work.

Cosmetic brand Vesna

Inna Skarzhynska, the founder of the herbal cosmetics brand Vesna, developed her family business in Bucha. At the beginning of the war, she left the city, leaving the laboratory with an office and a branded store with cosmetics. Rashists destroyed the shop and part of the laboratory, taking almost all the equipment with them. However, the woman did not lose hope, and after a while, with the help of volunteers, she took the remains of production from Bucha to Lviv. Having found partners, she resumed the production of cosmetics. Subsequently, sales resumed through large cosmetic and pharmacy chains.

The woman stressed that the greatest incentive to continue working was given by her long-time customers, who went abroad and made orders from there. Later, Inna and her daughter developed a military line - a "frontline kit" for defenders, which included healing ointment, hand cream and face cream with sun protection. The company has already sent about 2 thousand sets to the front.

The entrepreneur said that during the war it is important to keep physical stores or warehouses in different places in order not to stop production and to be able to accumulate raw materials.

Wooden puzzles

Yana Sytnichenko is the owner of CreatifWood, a wooden puzzle factory in Boryspil. Before the war, her products were presented on the shelves of more than 500 stores in France, at Christmas fairs in 16 cities of France and Luxembourg. At the time of the invasion, the company had to increase the costs of maintaining the business and manufacturing products, but the entire team and production facilities are now working as usual. Since the raw materials used to come from Belarus, it was necessary to change the supplies to European ones, and this forced to raise the prices for the products.

The company has taken the equipment to a safe area and works only on order. In her opinion, in the difficult situation, businesses need to focus on their own efficiency and creating reserves.

Slovyansk printing enterprise "CMYK"

Denys Pidchenko, the head of the CMYK printing company, which he founded in Slovyansk, Donetsk region, more than ten years ago, managed to evacuate the equipment to Kropyvnytskyi during the invasion. First they rented a warehouse, and a week later - an office. The equipment was taken out by minivans 20 times, and 5-ton trucks were also involved to evacuate the largest machines. At the new location, there were difficulties with personnel, because more than half of the staff either left for Europe or stayed in their hometown. In June, the company managed to reach 20% of pre-war profits. However, having some experience with the European market (before the war the company exported printing products to the EU), Denys intends to open a branch in Poland and look for new stable customers for production in Kropyvnytskyi.

Kramatorsk sewing enterprise

Before the Russian expansion into Ukraine, Svitlana Korotun was the owner of a large sewing enterprise in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region. It specialized in tailoring evening and wedding dresses to individual orders. To increase productivity and modernise the company, the owner applied for a grant from EU4Business under the program to support entrepreneurs in eastern Ukraine. The funds were used to purchase software for designing clothes and additional sewing equipment.

With the outbreak of the war, Svitlana's production closed, and she found herself on the front line, constantly under enemy fire. In March, the woman and her family moved to Dnipro and moved some of the sewing equipment there.

Now Svitlana is building her business together with her daughter Arina. In July this year, the girl as part of a group of young Ukrainian designers participated in the fashion week in Turin. There she demonstrated a collection of women's clothing in the military style. The girls are currently working on their own brand "Forma Center", in particular a collection of clothes for self-confident and confident in our victory women.

Many other companies have also managed to keep their businesses running despite the military threat by moving their offices and production facilities to safer regions. For example, the owner of the brand "Smoky meat from Taras" created a new product "Meals from Taras" - ready-to-eat meals with a long shelf life.