Russian tea producer continues to operate in Ukraine under new brands
After the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the manufacturer of the Maiskii tea brand established production under new brands and now produces teas of its brands for the ATB supermarket chain.
Source: Ekonomichna Pravdaʼs investigation
Until 2022, 40% of the tea market in Ukraine was occupied by companies with Russian ultimate beneficial owners: Orimi Ukraine and Mai Ukraine company, which owned the brands Greenfield, TESS, Princess Noori, Maiskii and Curtis.
After the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the listed brands of tea disappeared from supermarket shelves, and relevant Ukrainian factories allegedly stopped their work. At the same time, the Ukrainian government began confiscating Russian property, such as construction plants, shopping centres, washing powder production facilities, and mineral water. Under a similar scenario, the property of tea producers should have been confiscated, too, but this did not happen.
Mai Ukraine company produced teas under the brands Maiskii, Lisma, Curtis, Richard and Coffesso coffee. In April 2022, the company received a new name – Trypillia Sun LLC and a new beneficiary (Karlen Stepanian through the Armenian company Kochar International) and continued to produce tea under new brands.
The address of the production facilities (the city of Obukhiv, Kyiv Oblast) and the chief accountant have not changed. On supermarket shelves, products are sold under the brands Sherlock Secrets, Tea Moments, Trypillia Sun, and Tea Family.
Trypillia Sun (TS) also produces teas for its supermarket brands, particularly Svoia Liniia (Our Own Line) and Rozumnyi Vybir (Smart Choice) for ATB supermarkets.
The company's market share is now 8%, while another source estimates it at 5-6%.
"The company has been formally renamed, and it operates the same way it did before the invasion. Otherwise than that, the situation is the same as with the TS trade," said an informed source of Ekonomichna Pravda.
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