Rud

Owners: Petro Rud and Oksana Vivsyk.

Zhytomyr Butter Plant has been the largest ice cream producer on the market for over 10 years. In different years, its share was 27-32%.

"Rud" processes 300 tons of milk on a day-to-day basis, and about 150 tons of ice cream (600,000 portions) is produced per day.

Income in 2019: UAH 2.2 billion.

"Rud" exports ice cream to 30 countries, including Israel, Moldova, Georgia, Japan, EU countries, and USA.

Apart from ice cream, the plant also produces butter, skimmed milk powder, sour cream, kefir, yogurts, and frozen vegetable and berry mixes.

The company is one of the largest taxpayers in the Zhytomyr region. It is a workplace for 763 people.

Novoe Vremia and Dragon Capital estimates the "Rud" TM brand value at $7 million.

• 1981 — "Zhytomyr Butter Plant" was founded. Previously, the enterprise was used by Zhytomyr Meat-packing Plant. After Ukraine proclaimed its independence, the plant was reorganized into a leased enterprise.
• 1996 - the company was privatized and an open joint stock company was founded.
• On April 1, 1998, the plant initiated the manufacturing of products under the Rud trade mark, in honor of the owner and president of the company.

• In 2006, the Antimonopoly Committee fined "Rud" for UAH 25,000 for bid-rigging in the market. Together with Loostdorf, Zhytomyr Butter Plant set the same rock-bottom prices for purchasing milk from the villagers in the Vinnytsia region.

That completely eliminated price competition in the market. In addition, the companies bought milk without concluding contracts and without notifying suppliers in advance about price changes.

'Instead of fighting for a supplier, the buyers came to an agreement and put people over a barrel,' the AMCU said.

profiles

• In 2015, the Zhytomyr Butter Plant was accused of trading with the invaders. On the Internet, there was uploaded a photo of the Rud ice cream package, and on its packaging it was stated that it was produced by Elite Crimea, and the facilities were located in "Republic of Crimea, Russia."

"Rud" explained that they had nothing to do with the ice cream production on the annexed peninsula. They assured that consider Crimea to be part of Ukraine. They also clarified that the company Elite Crimea indeed used to use the trademark on legal grounds for many years.

• On May 15, 2015, Zhytomyr Butter Plant demanded that Elite Crimea, a former Rud's distributor company re-registered under the Russian law, stop using "Rud" name on its production.
• For several years, the Kharkiv company Khladoprom has been suing with the ice cream producers in order to forbid them using the word "Kashtan" when naming the production. They insist that the ice cream in chocolate glaze, which is produced by almost all ice cream producers, is registered by Khladoprom.

In 2017, Zhytomyr Butter Plant also stopped using the Kashtan trademark as they could not reach a compromise with Khladoprom. On the "Rud" website, it is now stated that "Kashtan" is temporarily not produced.

In 2017, journalists found out that the president of Khladoprom and the judge, who handled cases related to the Kashtan trademark, live in neighboring apartments and studied at the same time at the same university.

• In 2019, the AMCU banned Zhytomyr Butter Plant from using the word "organic" on the Eskimo ice cream packaging as it was providing users with false information.

• In 2013, "Rud" installed a monument to ice cream in the Zhytomyr city center. The monument is a bowl with three ice cream balls made of four types of granite. Its size is 3 meters, weight is 14 tons. The attraction was included in the Ukrainian Book of Records.
• Every year, the company organizes an Ice Cream Festival in different cities of the country. The festival include all kinds of entertainment activities, such as games, amusement and workshops for children and adults.
• In 2020, during the coronavirus epidemic, Petro Rud donated a modern artificial lung ventilation device to the Regional Clinical Hospital. He also provided the medical institutions of the city and the district with 2000 special protective coveralls.