The name of this Moldavian company encompasses the major aspects of its activity. Or-hei-Vit is the leading producer of juices, baby food and other food products in the region with sales over 25 countries.
The company started its life 65 years ago in Orhei, a very beautiful agricultural place in Moldova, which formed the first part in the name of the company. The other part of the name is from a Latin word “vita”, which means “life”. And that part of the name stands for all the minerals and vitamins that are preserved and delivered to the consumers of Orhei-Vit goods. The company has a long history behind and obviously great future ahead relying on package technology innovation, careful consumer demand analysis and professional staff.
The success principles
Orhei-Vit is one of the leading companies in its field, and it didn’t happen overnight. The company has been developing its products since 1945. Persistent innovation and invest-ments into the newest technologies and widening the range and quality of products have helped the company to turn it from a soviet-type plant into a successful and leading busi-ness. The success of the company is determined by meeting desires of consumers in over 25 countries. Since the major clients are the consumers of the finished products, the key success factor is to offer natural high quality products at the appropriate prices. All of the above has helped the company earn trust of the customers.
A little bit of history
The company was founded back in 1945, and since then it has been growing and adjust-ing to the current market demands. Existing company infrastructure started to form in the early 80’s, when its first European food processing line was put into operation and the aseptic department for juice storage was created. In 1994 the company became privately owned enterprise. Today Orhei-Vit is the largest Moldavian producer of juices and baby food. The company head office is allocated in the capital of Moldova which operates two regional factories, one in Orhei and another one in Causeni.
Orhei-Vit’s products
Orhei-Vit production is focused on two major businesses: the market of the products for final consumers and the market of 100% natural concentrated fruit juices, puree and paste. The total list of branded products includes over 120 positions. Among the finished products there are fruit and vegetable juices in Tetra-Pak cartons and glass bottles; baby food, canned vegetables, jam, tomato paste. Juices are packed from 0,2L to 2L packages. In 2010 the company launched a set of nectars in TetraPak 0,2 L and Baby Food juices and puree in 0,1L bottle. There are also new flavors introduced such as Indian mango and pomegranate. All products are certified according to the European and other international standards, including ISO-9001 and НАССР. The variety of Orhei-Vit products are targeted both at the middle (Naturalis juices) and high (Vita, Gustos juices) price segments. Naturalis was introduced in 2005 and acquired wide customers’ acknowledgement immediately due to its combination of highly tasty nectars and excellent prices. Two years later, in 2007, Orhei-Vit created another premium-class brand – Gustos exclusively offering directly squeezed fresh fruit juices. The quality of the products was verified by the awards that Orhei-Vit received (5 golden and 5 silver medals) at the international Russian and Kazakhstan exhibitions as well as at the highly acknowledged foods and drinks forums in Barcelona and Paris. The company is producing Baby Food products since 2002. This is a strategic product for Orhei-Vit which is made of only ecologically pure fruits and vegetables cultivated at Orhei-Vit own fields and orchards located far from industrial zones. Not many producers qualify for producing juices and purees for the babies as no pesticides or harmful substances can be used in cultivation process of vegetable and fruits for them. Moreover, VITA BABY products are made by the most state-of-the-art machine equipment which is a guarantee that all vitamins and nutritional substances as well as stability of taste are preserved. By offering natural baby food Orhei-Vit takes care over health of future generations. Natural semi-finished products such as apple concentrate, purees, plum and tomato pastes are highly demanded on the international market. These products are further processed by European producers in Germany and Austria for local consumers. Orhei-Vit is doing its best to combine two major ingredients in its business: ecologically clean raw materials and the latest technologies of the world’s best producers. These two are very important for the production of food rich in vitamins and minerals, which are very important for the human body. The company’s production includes processing of fruit and vegetables, producing of semi-finished products and finished products in different kinds of pack-aging.
Technologies and raw materials
The company is very proud to be very innovative in equipment. At the moment company owns equipment from European companies such as TETRA-PAK, BUCHER, UNIPECTIN, FBR-ELPO. This highly productive equipment allows the company to produce 30 mn cartons and 15 mn bottles of various juices and nectars per year. Some of the fruits and vegetables are grown on 690 hectares of owned land to provide the factory with the high quality raw materials. There is a farmer service center to provide private companies with the services in growing fruit and vegetables in Orhei region. VITA juices are made from raw material of extra quality and are a source of vitamins necessary for the human body, micro cells and other useful substances. The exotic series of VITA juices deliver energy to a body, strengthen immune and nervous systems. They are made from the high-quality raw material received after processing exotic fruits which grow in the Middle East, Asia and the Mediterranean region. Therefore, the exotic series of VITA juices preserves 100 % taste of natural fruit. The daily use of VITA juices guarantees health and vivacity for long years. Now you can see how Orhei-Vit is able to reach the high quality of its products focusing on the two major areas: the best raw materials and the best equipment and technologies. The strategic potential of the company is made up of two categories of factors. The inner ones that include some innovative exclusive technologies, licenses, unique projects, use of low-cost, but high-quality technologies, transportation networks, skilled personnel (scientists and engineers), effective trainings for personnel, motivation programs, and other resources. The outer factors cover such things as image, brands recognition, the company share on the national market as well as on the foreign ones, big and developed distribution network, contacts with goods and services suppliers, and other outer factors that make the work more efficient. One of the most important inner factors is the management professionalism.
Development dynamics
Though the company controls over 30% of sales of juices and 60% of baby food in Moldova, local sales are much lower than Export sales. With the main production facilities based in Moldova the company sells its products to customers in distant countries such as the United States of America and Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Israel, Baltic countries, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Taiwan. The company is very ambitious and is focused on discovering new markets and countries. In 2010 there are first deliveries to Japan, Ghana and Iraq. The long history behind the company helps the Orhei-Vit management realize and work towards the major goals set ahead of them. These include introduction of new packaging equipment to ensure higher nutrition value, new tastes for juices and baby food, larger customer base and ecologically clean production growth. Orhei-Vit is a great example of the company that knows its past, makes use of its expe-rience and has a vision for its future.
Written by Kateryna Ferdyn
