Losing everything during occupation and starting anew: the story of the revival of the largest cornelian cherry processor.

Three days after the war began, the largest cornelian cherry orchard in Ukraine, spanning 14 hectares in the Zaporizhia region, fell under occupation. The factory that produced the products, the equipment, and the vast estate of the Famberry company were destroyed by the occupiers. Six months later, the son of the founders of the estate, Natalia and Sergey Olshansky, Daniil, died in the war.

Gathering their strength, the family began to restore the family business in Zaporizhia as a tribute to their son. The company processes dozens of tons of cornelian cherries each year, producing compotes, sauces, jams, pastes, freeze-dried products, purees, and frozen berries.

Niche Berry

Cornelian cherry is a small stone fruit with an elongated shape that grows on bushes or small trees (depending on the variety and cultivation technology). It is a niche crop that was not previously grown on an industrial scale in Ukraine.

The first large orchard, covering 14 hectares near the village of Novoe, was established by the Olshansky family in 2013. This orchard was recognized as the largest in Ukraine.

The trees begin to bear fruit in their fifth or sixth year, and thereafter the yield increases. Mass yields of cornelian cherries typically begin around the ninth year after planting. The average yield of a mature tree is 20 kg.

"There is a legend that where cornelian cherries grow, no doctor is needed. Cornelian cherry is a champion among berries in vitamin C content, which strengthens the immune system," says Natalia Olshanskaya, director and co-founder of Famberry.

As soon as the orchard produced its first berries, they began experimenting with recipes and establishing production.

"Before the war, we traveled to many international exhibitions with our products, but with small volumes, it was impossible to enter the global market. Just as we reached volumes that allowed us to start exporting, the war broke out," Olshanskaya explains.

Losses of 300 Million

The village of Novoe, near Tokmak, where the entire agricultural business of the Olshanskys was located, was seized by Russian occupiers three days after the start of the large-scale war.

"We lost about 300 million hryvnias on the occupied territories: equipment, the orchard, a hotel for workers, production facilities. We didn't manage to evacuate anything. During the war, we lost about 500 tons of cornelian cherry harvest: it fell off because no one was collecting it. The village is almost completely destroyed, and the people have left," Olshanskaya recounts.

The cornelian cherry orchard is partially destroyed, but most of the plantings are still alive, so the entrepreneur does not lose hope of returning after the de-occupation of these territories.

The entrepreneurs have only 40 tons of frozen cornelian cherries from the 2021 harvest left, which were stored in warehouses in Zaporizhia. To maintain supplies to the retail chains with which they established cooperation, the entrepreneurs signed an agreement to process cornelian cherries according to their recipes at one of the factories in Dnipro.

In August 2022, the family faced their greatest loss: their son Daniil died in a tank battle. He went to war as a volunteer as part of the tactical group "Steppe Wolves," which fought in the Zaporizhia direction and was subordinate to "Azov."

"After that, it was hard for us to recover, but I believe that we have a mission to be happy and live in memory of those who pay the high price - their lives. Therefore, we did not give up, we united, and decided that we would build a new modern processing enterprise in Zaporizhia," Olshanskaya shares.

Production in Zaporizhia

In December 2022, the family began constructing a processing plant covering 1,400 square meters in Zaporizhia. The construction was completed in six months. The production facilities include a low-temperature storage chamber of 150 square meters, a medium-temperature cooling chamber of 100 square meters, a processing workshop for product manufacturing of 250 square meters, and dry warehouses.

"We have equipment that makes sterilized products; equipment for separating pits and making purees; equipment that packages products in 'doy-pack' (vacuum packaging resembling a plastic bag with a bottom - EP), dispensers, vacuum boilers, and packaging equipment," the co-founder lists.

Eight people work in production. During the harvest season, their number doubles.

After moving to Zaporizhia, the family invested about 2 million dollars into the business: 90% from their own funds and 10% from grants. In 2024, they applied for a grant from the USAID "Competitive Economy" program with a project for equipment to increase processing volumes of cornelian cherry products to 300 tons per year.

"We have passed. Only final approval remains; we are waiting for the final decision, but with Trump's arrival, all programs have been suspended. If everything goes well, this will allow us to scale up and enter the export market," Olshanskaya states.

As part of the grant, Famberry hopes to acquire freezers, shock freezing equipment, and sterilizers.

In December 2024, the company won a grant for 1 million hryvnias. It became one of ten winners of a competition organized by Forbes and the "Aurora" chain of supermarkets. The company will also be able to sell its products in the stores of the chain. The grant funds will be used to purchase equipment for packaging jams into sticks. The company cannot participate in preferential loan programs due to specific conditions.

"The state restricts our access to preferential lending (the 'Affordable Loans 5-7-9%' program - EP), because the ultimate beneficiary, my husband, is over 65 years old. So, we can pay taxes, we can employ people, but we cannot get a loan for development," Olshanskaya complains.

She adds that despite the difficulties of working in frontline areas, there is no assistance from the government.

"Business in frontline areas is in a high-risk zone, but children are born here, life continues. If businesses leave, if there are no jobs, it will all become a dead zone. Therefore, we need to be here. We need to attract attention and help so that agriculture and processing develop.

Our logistics routes are disrupted, and we are located far from sales centers. This affects the cost price. In some places, we operate 'at zero,' but we do not stop. We pay the same taxes as businesses in Uzhhorod. Are these equal conditions? No," the co-founder of the production summarizes.

Cooperation with Retail Chains

Famberry's products are available in "Auchan," "Varus," "Novus," and "Silpo." The company was the first in Ukraine to receive the honorary mark "Created by Defenders" for its entire product line from the Ministry of Veterans Affairs. Olshanskaya says that some retail chains are very supportive of veteran businesses. For example, "Auchan" has a separate location marked "Created by Defenders."

"This is the first retail chain in Ukraine that has approached this issue on such a large scale. I am very grateful to them that there are no relationships where the producer has to beg on their knees to place their product on the shelf. 'Silpo' also allows small producers into the network. Only ATB 'twists the arms' of producers who do not have large volumes of products," the co-founder of the production explains.

In her opinion, it is important for Ukrainians to support veteran businesses. "A warrior not only fights for freedom on the front line. Upon returning, he demands society's attention. If a person has a choice - to buy regular products or products created by defenders, then they should choose the latter. This is the reintegration of the veteran into society," Olshanskaya insists.

The demand for cornelian cherry products has significantly increased over the past five years. "Currently, it seems that people's purchasing power is low, but we have much higher sales volumes than in previous years. This is a paradox against