The Georgian company Achinebuli producing natural juices under the Alali brand currently exports 60% to 70% of its products.
Gocha Gvinepadze, the founder of Achinebuli LLC, told EastFruit that their export markets include the USA, Poland, the Czech Republic, France, the Baltic countries, and Kazakhstan. There are also exports to Ukraine, although, they became irregular with the outbreak of hostilities on its territory.
According to Gocha Gvinepadze, the company continues strengthening its presence in export markets this year, both in terms of production volumes and establishing new partnerships.
Within this strategy, Achinebuli, among the Georgian delegation of 16 companies, took part in the world’s largest exhibition of agriculture and food International Green Week (Berlin, Germany) in the second half of January, where Alali juices attracted considerable interest.
“New contacts have been established, and negotiations with potential partners from two European countries have already begun,” he said.
The Achinebuli juice production plant is in Telavi (Kakheti region, Eastern Georgia). It was opened in 2019 with the support of the state and the USAID agricultural program. The company has implemented the ISO 22000 standard. The first exports were made in 2020 to the USA.
The plant’s products are natural juices without flavors, preservatives, or sweeteners, obtained by cold pressing or grinding and homogenization, undergoing deaeration and subsequent pasteurization. The plant processes 3 000 tonnes of fruit annually.
To date, the Alali line includes about 10 types of juices, including apple, peach, pomegranate, cherry, quince, grape, blackberry, citrus fruits – mandarins and orange, as well as tomato. Pomegranate and citrus processing equipment was purchased in 2022 with the support of a USAID Agriculture Program grant.
Juices are produced in glass bottles of 250 grams, 1 liter, as well as in 3-liter pouches with a special tap.
In the Georgian market, Alali juices are presented in most supermarket chains – in Carrefour, Agrohub, Goodwill, Nikora XL, Fresco, Daily, and Universami. The company also supplies its products to several large hotels.
Achinebuli buys raw materials for juices from farmers – permanent partners from various regions of Georgia. For example, peaches and grapes are bought in Kakheti, tomatoes and apples are supplied from Shida Kartli, and citruses are from Western Georgia.
As Gocha Gvinepadze noted, the company plans to launch its refrigeration facility this year, which will allow storing raw materials, finished products, and semi-finished products – juice in a 200-liter container before bottling.
“We allocated 800 square meters for refrigeration and storage facilities. We have already built a warehouse, and we are installing refrigeration equipment. The project is supported by the state and USAID. The refrigerator will be operative by the beginning of the summer season,” Gocha Gvinepadze said.
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