Ukraine: Incredible Craft Bag – small businesses with big potential

With support of the Dutch Embassy in Kyiv, local craft producers took part in New Food Summit

Incredible Craft bag at New Food Summit
Team of Agroportal and the Embassy at the booth of Incredible Craft Bag

With more than 40 craft producers, Incredible Bag and Instafarmers project took part in the key agrifood event New Food Summit in Kyiv 15-16 October. AgroPortal.ua, with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine, presented local products from the "Incredible craft bag" - an online platform that united the products of the finalists of the "Incredible villages of Ukraine" competition and project participants "Instafarmers".

Support of local entrepreneurship contributes to sustainable development of the local communities,  reducing migration, creating new jobs and strengthening families where it is a family business.

New Food Summit 2024
A panel on craft production in Ukraine at New Food Summit

New Food Summit provides the platform for panel discussions, networking sessions and an exhibition area. The The event brings together the key players of the agri-food market — agricultural holdings, processors, producers, distributors, retailers and HoReCa — to discuss new solutions and opportunities for cooperation.

One of the most interesting discussions of New Food Summit 2024 the "Way of Craft Producers in Ukraine", which is dedicated to the challenges that craft producers face when entering the shelves of large retail chains, as well as ways to overcome these obstacles. Evgeny Klopotenko, chef, co-founder of the gastroholding "Inakshi", was a moderator of the discussion.

New Food Summit 2024
A panel on craft production in Ukraine at New Food Summit

The highlights of the panel

  • Craft producers preserve Ukrainian traditions and it is very important that consumers have a choice of local products;
  • It is quite difficult for craft producers to enter retail chains, due to requirements mostly designed for large producers;
  • According to the crafters themselves, it is important to first develop your own brand, be financially ready and then go with the product to the supermarket shelf, and not be guided by the desire to be there immediately at any price
  • Small craft producers mainly sell their products on social networks and "word of mouth" works
Incredible Craft Bag at New Food Summit
photo by Seeds.ua

Incredible Craft Bags is a platform presenting the products from 40 local producers. Among them are agricultural cooperatives, farmers and individual producers from the rural areas from all over Ukraine. They sell their produce mainly on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok platforms.

Incredible Craft Bag
Incredible Craft Bag by Agroportal.UA and NLEmbassyinUkraine

Craft Bag at New Food Summit offered: