On July 25, 2023, the "Milk Sessions" were held in Moscow again. Summer Edition». Traditionally, the organizers of the event were the National Union of Milk Producers (Soyuzmoloko) and the Milknews news agency.

Alexey Fatykhov, General Director of Azbuka Syra LLC, took part in the discussion on the current state and prospects of the industry development. He also gave a big interview in which he told how the difficulties of recent years have become a powerful driver of production development and a kind of springboard for reaching a completely new level.

Here we will provide answers to questions about forecasts and immediate priorities:

Milknews: What are your forecasts for the development of the company and the dairy market as a whole for 2023?

A. Fatykhov: As you know, making forecasts is a thankless task, and in the last 2-3 years, adventurous.

Cheese and butter are essentially unique products, it's not for nothing that they have a thousand–year history. There is nothing to fully replace them, either as an independent product or as an ingredient of dishes. Therefore, they are characterized by a certain stability in comparison with some categories of dairy products, where purchases are emotional, spontaneous. However, this does not negate the fact of the emergence of new trends and requirements on the part of the consumer, for example, low-fat cheese and butter, cheese in the form of slices, cheese with new flavorings. A separate story is connected with the development of the production of new varieties of cheese, after the departure of some companies from the Russian market. And despite the fact that many people call the current situation difficult, it became the step that brought many companies to a new level. In particular, our company in 2022 has just begun to master the technology of parmesan production, and already in the middle of 2023 I can share with you that we have started shipping it to retailers.

The buyer has become more rational, seeks to save money at the time of purchase, is attentive to his health, and therefore to the composition of the products consumed, appreciates time and convenience. Therefore, when we talk about the product, we look at the actual needs of the consumer.

There are external factors in which all manufacturers are located, we can often predict them, but we cannot influence them, therefore it is necessary to be ready to adjust, adapt to new realities.

Milknews: What areas of development are your priorities at the moment? Are you planning to invest in new projects in the near future?

A. Fatykhov: First of all, we invest in what we are good at doing. In particular, now we have a need to upgrade and increase the productive capacity of the butter-making area. In this regard, we are negotiating, meeting with equipment suppliers.

Maintenance and development of the enterprise infrastructure is one of the key focuses of our attention. Following the increase in production capacity, the question arose of the need to improve the efficiency of the expedition workshop and warehouse logistics. In the near future, we plan to increase the capacity of the cheese ripening room for Maasdam cheese.

We see that the market has formed a steady consumption of new varieties of cheese and new categories of dairy products. Therefore, we evaluate what investments are needed to master the production of new categories, meet with equipment suppliers, discuss channels and promotion strategy.

The full version of the interview is available at: https://milknews.ru/interviu-i-blogi/fatyhov-mnenie.html