Vilkyškių Pieninė changes name to Vilvi Group
CEO of the group, Gintaras Bertašius, said, “Twenty-seven years ago, when we entered the market as Vilkyškių Pieninė, we firstly highlighted our small dairy’s close relationship with customers, the natural quality of our product, and the unique origins of its flavor in our business relationships. However, soon we recognized our position as participants in the global dairy market, and in 2011 we presented our new brand intended for export – Vilvi.
“Justifiably, now, we can call Vilvi the symbol of our success and the basis of our groups’ global identity. Today a great share of our group’s export production is labeled with this particular brand name.”
In the last five years the group’s share of export has grown from 67% to 80%. The group presently sells products to 58 countries around the globe; 30% are EU member states. In the past two years, the company has expanded its export trade to China, Chile and Australia.
From 2011 to 2019, the group’s investments reached €59m ($69.6m), and the majority of these investments was dedicated to innovation, with the largest amount spent on the company’s whey processing plant in Northern Europe.
In the near future, the group intends to focus on its main investment direction – innovative products pertinent to the consumers around world.
The group’s sales revenue, according to unaudited data, during the first half of 2020 reached €55.8m ($65.8m) – a 4.1% increase compared to the same period in 2019, when income reached €53.6m ($63.2m). In January to June 2020 the Vilkyškių Pieninė business group made €1.2m ($1.4m) net profit.
The new identity as Vilvi Group includes several businesses – Vilkyškių Pieninė AB, Modest AB, Kelmės Pieninė AB and Pieno Logistika AB.
Fifty-one percent of Vilvi Group shares are controlled by Swisspartners Insurance; 17% of the shares belong to Multi Asset Selection Fund, and other shareholders own the remaining 32% of the shares.
