MSP Issue 34
MSP Magazine Dedicated to the Meat, Seafood and Poultry Industry. www.msp-magazine.com
MSP Magazine Dedicated to the Meat, Seafood and Poultry Industry. www.msp-magazine.com
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INTERVIEW<br />
Oblast.” We also participate in federal<br />
and international exhibitions.<br />
We recently participated in the<br />
industry exhibition for HoReCa –<br />
PIR–2017, held in Moscow in the<br />
autumn, where we showcased our<br />
convenience products, dry sausages<br />
and seasonal sausages. We<br />
regularly visit industry exhibitions,<br />
trainings, supplier seminars, and<br />
we also carry out presentations<br />
and training in our plant. We regularly<br />
participate in Russian trade<br />
fairs, such as “Agroprodmash”,<br />
“Rosupak”, “Prodexpo”. We also<br />
showcase our products at foreign<br />
exhibitions, such as IFFA, Interpack<br />
and China International Packaging<br />
& Materials Expo (CIPPME).<br />
DOES “OKRAINA” SUPPORT SOCIAL<br />
PROJECTS?<br />
– All the time. But we don’t make<br />
unnecessary fuss about it, we just<br />
help disadvantaged social groups,<br />
non-profit organizations and on a<br />
one-time basis. I would also like to<br />
mention that we support sports and<br />
especially children's sports. The<br />
hash tag #SportOkraina became a<br />
sort of a trademark for such events.<br />
YOU ORGANIZE REGULAR FACTORY<br />
TOURS. PLEASE TELL US WHAT THIS<br />
PROJECT MEANS TO YOU.<br />
– “OKRAINA’s” tours are not a PR<br />
move but a chance to brag about<br />
our production, process attitude<br />
and product range. Guests must<br />
be 12 years or older to participate<br />
in the tour. This tour is a serious<br />
organizational process which<br />
involves many people. Before the<br />
tour, the guests must provide a<br />
health declaration. During the<br />
tour they wear protective clothing<br />
and boots, and they are briefed on<br />
appropriate behaviour at the place<br />
of production. The guests also pass<br />
a sanitary protection area with a<br />
mandatory disinfection of hands<br />
and shoes.<br />
The tours are usually conducted<br />
by the leading technologist or the<br />
director of operations, i.e. high<br />
profile specialists. The guests can<br />
see for themselves that we use<br />
quality cooled raw materials in<br />
production and that we don’t use<br />
artificial substitutes. We use natural<br />
milk, onions, garlic and eggs, and<br />
keep our production facilities clean<br />
and tidy. After the tour, the guests<br />
are asked to taste our products<br />
and provide their expert evaluation.<br />
People who participated in our<br />
tours become loyal customers of<br />
“OKRAINA”. We are the only meat<br />
processing company in the region<br />
that conducts tours on a continuous<br />
basis. Our regular visitors are<br />
universities, colleges, whole high<br />
school classes and even corporate<br />
teams. We have a constant flow of<br />
people who wish to take part in our<br />
tours.<br />
HOW DID YOU CREATE YOUR<br />
OWN ONLINE STORE AND WEB<br />
APPLICATION?<br />
– Almost no one believed in the<br />
successful sales of sausages in<br />
the World Wide Web. People asked<br />
me: “Who is going to buy sausages<br />
through Internet?” Three years<br />
after establishing the “First Meat<br />
Online Store”, however, even the<br />
most sceptical people changed<br />
their minds. We ship around 40<br />
t of products per month, which is<br />
around 14,000 online orders. And<br />
this is only in Murmansk Oblast!<br />
I believe that the proper logistics<br />
are one of the keys to the success<br />
of the online platform. We have our<br />
own delivery service with many<br />
refrigerated cars. The delivery is<br />
free of charge, no matter how many<br />
products you buy: a can of paste<br />
or five kilograms of dumplings.<br />
The freshness of our products is<br />
an important factor. In fact, we<br />
produce the goods in the morning<br />
and deliver them in the evening.<br />
The prices are also very important.<br />
The prices in our online store are<br />
by 20–25% lower than in the stores<br />
of the city. You obviously save a lot<br />
of money this way. In addition, we<br />
have a bonus system for buyers, a<br />
call center for orders and a 24 hour<br />
quality control service with a free<br />
phone line.<br />
Besides the adapted version of<br />
the website for smartphones, we<br />
also launched “OKRAINA” mobile<br />
application which is constantly<br />
updated.<br />
YOU ARE ACTIVE IN SOCIAL<br />
NETWORKS. HOW DO YOU WORK WITH<br />
THEM?<br />
– Social networks are effective<br />
communication tools not only in<br />
terms of product advertising, but<br />
also in terms of customer feedback.<br />
There are “OKRAINA” groups in all<br />
popular social networks, and we<br />
are trying to post an interesting<br />
content online. The average<br />
response time to messages is less<br />
than 30 minutes. We personally<br />
communicate with the users.<br />
PLEASE SHARE YOUR DEVELOPMENT<br />
PLANS FOR THE NEAR FUTURE. WHAT<br />
ARE YOUR LONG-TERM PLANS FOR<br />
THE NEXT 5 OR 10 YEARS?<br />
– Our short-term plans include<br />
production modernization, new<br />
equipment purchase, MES system<br />
implementation and process<br />
24 | <strong>MSP</strong> Magazine • October/November 2018
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