07/2024: From Western Ukraine to Eastern Europe, and throughout the world: natural products in the diverse range offered by Lutsk Foods are an enrichment to every cuisine – and they are supplied in exclusive and sustainable glass packaging from Vetropack. Since summer 2023, the glass containers have once again been delivered directly from Vetropack's site in Ukraine, and there are plans to expand the partnership.

>70
products under the Runa and Ridnyi Krai brands
430 ml
exclusive glass container from Vetropack
90%
of all products are delivered in glass jars

Are you familiar with satsebeli? It's a special tomato sauce from Georgia, made with tomato paste, onions, paprika and garlic combined with dill, basil and coriander. Or how about adjika? That's a spicy paste from the Caucasus (known in Turkey as acuka), with crushed chilli peppers as its main ingredient. The Lutsk Foods company has set itself the mission of making culinary achievements such as these available throughout the world. Lutsk Foods takes its name from the small city in western Ukraine where it was founded in 1945. Since then, it has developed into a market leader in its own country and beyond. More than 350 employees carefully prepare over 70 unique products which are mainly sold under the Runa and Ridnyi Krai brands – in Eastern and Western Europe, the USA, Japan, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere.

One of the secrets of the Runa brand is that its products preserve their natural properties: all of them are manufactured without preservatives or food additives. Experienced technologists collaborate with the marketing team to keep on developing the unique recipes for the Runa range. Lutsk Foods' manufacturing facilities were completely modernised between 2008 and 2010, and additional production lines were installed between 2014 and 2016. Since 2019, Lutsk Foods has been collaborating with Vetropack, one of Europe's leading glass packaging manufacturers. And as of 2021, Vetropack has been supplying an exclusive 430-ml glass container for the Runa brand. The two companies share the same commitment to excellence, sustainable processes, and continuous development.

Special recipes – natural and healthy, with long shelf lives

Anna Polishchuk joined Lutsk Foods in 2010 and she has been the company's Chief Operating Officer since 2021. She reports: “Our collaboration with Vetropack harbours great potential. Glass is the ideal packaging material for us. However, priorities change in times of war: at the moment, the main challenges are to secure people's jobs and maintain the pre-war level.” Vetropack operates its own plant at Hostomel in Ukraine. Located to the north-west of Kyiv, the glassworks was founded in 1912 and has been owned by Vetropack since 2006. After sustaining serious damage at the end of February 2022, the plant resumed operation at the end of May 2023 with a newly-recruited workforce of 169, consisting mostly of former employees. “We are very happy to have Vetropack Gostomel as a professional supplier located close to us. That's because we also rely on Ukrainian partners for all the other raw materials and components in the supply chain,” Polishchuk continues.

Over 90 per cent of Lutsk Foods' products are delivered in glass jars that are filled directly on site. As an infinitely recyclable product, glass is exceptionally sustainable and it contains no additives or potentially harmful chemicals. Glass and ceramics also have by far the lowest levels of food contact substances that could accidentally accumulate on the packaging, harbouring health risks that are as yet unresearched. Like Vetropack Gostomel, Lutsk Foods is also certified in accordance with FSSC 22000 – attesting the high level of quality assurance and traceability throughout the value chain. “Our objective is to manufacture safe products of high quality every day – products that meet the high standards set by national and European legislation,” Polishchuk emphasises.

«Our collaboration with Vetropack harbours great potential and we are very happy to have Vetropack Gostomel as a professional supplier located close to us.»
Anna Polishchuk, Chief Operating Officer, Lutsk Foods

Vetropack currently supplies colourless glass jars for 16 different Lutsk Foods products. They include a wide range of special tomato-based sauces, a ketchup for children, and a mayonnaise preparation. These ready-to-consume products contain valuable vitamins and micronutrients, and they are simple to use in cooking. The glass packaging is exceptionally environment-friendly – but that's not all: it also enables thermal treatment, which allows the required sterilisation and completely eliminates the need for any preservatives.

A forward-looking partnership in Ukraine

“Vetropack is the right partner for us, and they also help us to move forward in terms of sustainability,” Anna Polishchuk comments. “Thanks to Vetropack's advanced technology and optimised processes, we save huge amounts of CO2 throughout the entire value chain. That's because we sell our products directly as well as indirectly, and we also serve the hospitality industry and various export markets. Our marketing specialists keep a close watch on the Ukrainian and global markets and, when the time is right, they collaborate with the food technologists to prepare new products – for which we’ll be considering more glass packaging products from Vetropack. The situation continues to be challenging, but both our companies are highly quality-conscious, and we are already working on joint plans for the future.”