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Dumplings, zeppelins, Samogitian pancakes, pancakes, various cutlets – this is the range of this company. While the director laughs, listing all the products, and many of them because the fillings are different, would not be easy.
The quarantine changed that supply somewhat. And anyway, the last year has been unusual.
A changing year
The years of the pandemic are difficult to compare with anyone’s, says Hurotvyi when we talk about the past year.
“It just came to our notice then. Thank goodness the government’s decision to make up for the downtime was very helpful. During the first quarantine, we really didn’t know what to do with the staff. What will it be, what it will be like, how long it will take. .. And when we started to compensate, at least promised, we achieved certainty, so we knew that the losses would be limited, “said the head of the company.
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Dmytro Hurtovyi
It was the fact that it was difficult to predict what the future holds, and it was the big test in 2020, when the quarantine began.
“We didn’t have any orders for a month, we had to put the employees into downtime. The next month, the orders already appeared, but we didn’t have anyone working: some workers got sick, others were quarantined. That changed everything. . We put a lot of effort in trying to find new clients, especially last spring, when we didn’t know how things would be here. But now we have new connections, we have discovered new markets, “said D. Hurotvyi about the challenges of the past year.
Demand decreased and changed
It would seem that the food was bought even better, especially during the first quarantine, the shoppers simply took the store shelves. And frozen products are a great alternative when you don’t have the time or desire to cook.
However, the demand for these products has dropped significantly as many of them have traveled to cafes and other restaurants and all have closed.
This is how everything changed. We made an effort to find new clients, especially last spring. But now we have new connections, we have discovered new markets.
“During the first quarantine, only about 10 percent. Old quantities went to these establishments. With the start of the second quarantine, everything was different, the cafes brought food home, which was a little easier in the fall than in spring. Now I can say that although we tried too hard, we found new customers, because we could hardly produce, “said the director.
According to him, the product range has not been substantially expanded: only a few news has appeared, but it is said to have appeared anyway. The geography has expanded: production travels to several new countries.
More active cooperation was also established with some old customers, and demand for some products also grew.
“It just came to our notice then. The demand structure has changed, now we need to reorient ourselves, as the products we produce the most need less, the demand for others is growing. We have to switch to Zeppelins as well as Samogitian pancakes. These products have become very popular.
Photo by Žygimantas Gedvila / 15min / Kogus Frozen Food Company
We think that maybe a customer found a way to offer them, but the need for zeppelins has grown everywhere. Not just cafes, but also stores, bigger and smaller chain stores, want them. Everybody needs something, I don’t even know it ”, laughs D. Hurtovyi.
We have to switch to Zeppelins, as well as Samogitian pancakes. These products have become very popular.
Such changes are difficult to explain, assures the director. Maybe people just tried it, got used to it and liked it more often:
“I can only guess. We do not sell directly to people, there are intermediaries between them and us and we do not know the reasons for the change.”
Markets are expanding
When asked about foreign markets, the headline of Kogus does not hide that most of them are countries where there are many emigrants from Lithuania.
Suppose Great Britain, Ireland and Sweden.
In the near future, the frozen products made at Visaginas will also appear in German stores, and it is planned to work directly with the country’s traders.
It is true that through intermediaries the products reach many other countries, such as Finland, Latvia, Estonia. So is Germany.
Photo by Žygimantas Gedvila / 15min / Kogus Frozen Food Company
“We will also send the first shipment to Iceland. Part of the cargo is also zeppelins. We hope they are regular customers. We don’t even look for anything ourselves there, we don’t try. We just got a call,” said D. Hurtovyi, admitting that now does not accept new customers, does not create new products.
The company needs to expand production; once this is done, the additional staff shifts will begin.
The director admits that the construction of new facilities is not yet planned as it is a costly and time consuming process with many adjustments. And the team has to wait several months.
We are also sending the first shipment to Iceland. Part of the cargo is also zeppelins.
“It just came to our knowledge then. Yesterday it was necessary to expand something, because we refused or asked some clients to wait,” said D. Hurtovyi, although he is not hiding, the expansion is planned.
Perhaps there is a new factory somewhere else in Lithuania.
As the director says, here are only the reflections on which to base the calculation, to evaluate all the pros and cons.
Finding employees is easier
In total, the company has more than 130 employees. Several more were sought during the implementation of the additional shift.
According to the director, the pandemic took over and finding the will to work right now is not as difficult as it was before the coronavirus.
Photo by Žygimantas Gedvila / 15min / Kogus Frozen Food Company
“Of course, good employees already have jobs. But because of the quarantine, the old movement restrictions are really a little easier to find an employee,” said the director.
Most of the employees of this company are local, a few travel from Zarasai, but miss their transportation from afar, only from the city of Visaginas, from which there are only a few kilometers to the village of Karklų.
Some of the workers are repatriated from Belarus.
D. Hurotvyi says that they themselves are not looking for employees abroad, those people came to them when they were already living in Lithuania.
There is a lot of craftsmanship in this company. Let’s say you have to glue zeppelins by hand. Even the potato peeler needs maintenance, says the manager.
Almost 600 tons of zeppelins were produced here in 2020 alone. And the meatball zeppelins – 543 tons – have already surpassed them at this company.
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