"Kormotech brands were socially responsible long before it became the demand of the time"

After February 24, Ukrainians had to learn to live and work in a new reality. Kormotech is no exception. Marketing, which comes from the consumer, helps us adapt to new conditions. Ihor Blystiv, director of marketing and innovation of Kormotech, told more about marketing transformations during the war and the experience of Kormotech workers at the Ukrainian marketing forum.

War is about change. Therefore, a business must understand how the client has changed, his priorities, information consumption, or purchase channels. The company can improve the product faster when it studies new consumer needs and challenges. Therefore, to remain relevant and thus maintain its efficiency and profitability. It is what the marketing team works on.

I was lucky enough to represent Kormotech at the 15th Ukrainian Marketing Forum, which took place on October 3-4 in Kyiv. Although the event was prepared in a record short time, the content was relevant to today's time.

In general, Ukrainian business maintains an optimistic mood. Discussion panels on business during the war, Go Global, and future marketing became meaningful and timely. The representative of "Ukrzaliznytsia" talked about the titanic work of the railway after the full-scale invasion of Russia and the changes that took place in the state-owned enterprise.

Everyone is looking for new ways to develop efficiently in pristine conditions. Most understand the need to go global and export their products because there is higher competition, which is how to become a better version of yourself.

Other businesses admire the way Kormotech builds and develops its brands. It is respected by many. Our company adequately copes with the challenges that arose after February 24.

How to build brand communications during wartime

It is necessary to clearly understand the brand's values, the positioning, and the value proposition you give to the client to know the needs of the consumer and the context in which he is. You should adapt communication to this context and use appropriate distribution and sales channels. For example, in March of this year, brands activated their presence online because it was one of the critical channels of product distribution.

The social component is essential. Kormotech brands have been socially responsible long before it became the need of the hour. With the onset of war, many brands have embarked on social initiatives as on demand of the hour.

CLUB 4 PAWS launched a project to adopt animals from shelters, which transformed into Adopt Pets of Ukraine during the great war. These projects correspond to the positioning of brands and strengthen them among customers. Since March, finding new families for more than 240 four-legged friends has already been possible. Instead, Optimeal, with the veterinary care service 9100 during this time, processed more than 1000 requests from animal owners who asked for help.

How Kormotech overcomes new challenges with the help of marketing

The large team of the marketing department continues to work. Everyone in their place does everything dependent on the growth of the company.

Club 4 PAWS has developed a new line Selection and presented it at the spring international exhibition of pet products in Nuremberg. Optimeal is actively working on the development of a new product line that will help the brand grow in Ukraine and abroad in the next two years.

The digital team launched the Optimeal online store in a short period. The design team took on many projects in-house, although previously, we actively involved other contractors. The team of the vet channel keeps in touch with veterinarians and breeders and helps them stay on Kormotech products.

Feed technicians engaged in analytics and research evaluated the market when there was no data, helped analyze the cost of recipes, and arranged the accounting data for the remaining packaging.

In May, we conducted consumer research in Ukraine. On this basis, develop brand manifestos. Optimeal emphasized that people are just as devoted to their four-legged friends as they are to their owners. Instead, Club 4 PAWS came out with a manifesto that love is always on time and pampering your pets is always on time, even in the shelter. The company has developed a whole line of delicious products named Selection.

R&D helped with the adaptation of recipes during the period of uncertainty. Part of the team was actively involved in the outsourcing of products. Others continued work on the development of new products, the development of the R&D project of the center, and the development of new raw materials.

Now the marketing team is forming a brand strategy for strategic markets. We are working on developing new products and optimizing the assortment. The main goal is to create a foundation for Ukrainian brands' rapid growth and development in the global market.