Roshen Kyiv Confectionery Factory
 | |
| Type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | confectionery |
| Founded | 1874 |
| Founder | Valentyn Yefimov |
| Headquarters | , |
Number of employees | 3 000 |
| Parent | Roshen Confectionery Corporation |
| Website | Kyiv Confectionery Factory |
Kyiv confectionery factory "Roshen" (Ukrainian: Київська кондитерська фабрика "Рошен"), formerly known as the Karl Marx Kyiv Confectionery Factory[1] (Ukrainian: Київська кондитерська фабрика імені Карла Маркса) is the largest confectionery company in Kyiv, Ukraine, and the most important subdivision of the Roshen Confectionery Corporation.[2]
The factory operates 36 production lines with a capacity annually for 60,000 tonnes of confectionery.[3][4]
History
[edit]In the Russian Empire and Soviet Union
[edit]
The factory was founded in 1874 by Valentin Yefimov as the Demiivska Steam Factory of Chocolate and Sweets.[3] In 1875, it had 24 yards and 200 workers were engaged in production. The production volume was about 200 tons per year. The factory produced chocolate, dragees, candies, caramel, marmalade, pastille, jam, gingerbread, tea biscuits and other sweets.[5]
In 1923, it was named after Karl Marx by the Soviet authorities in order to celebrate his 105th anniversary.[3] By 1930, the annual production was at around 7,000 tonnes, and by 1940 it had reached 33,000 tonnes with a workforce of 4,000 people.[3] However, during World War II, the factory was partially destroyed during the Battle of Kiev.[3] It was then reconstructed, and already by 1951 it was producing 49,000 tonnes of products.[3] It was in 1956 that the factory's signature Kyiv Cake was invented by I. Petrenko at the location. By 1958, there were over 200 product types with 24 automated production lines.[3] In 1966, it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, one of the highest labour awards in the Soviet Union.[3] During the 1970s, major work was done on the factory, including construction of new structures and facilities, and it was decided to increase the product range to include fruit marmalades, chocolate liqueur candles, and "Kyiv Evening" candies.[3]
In Ukraine
[edit]Petro Poroshenko acquired control over the factory soon after its privatization in the 1990s, making it the basis for the future Roshen Corporation; a major modernization with Western equipment followed.[3] In 2005, the factory joined the Roshen corporation.[3] In 2009 closed joint-stock company "Karl Marx Kyiv Confectionery Factory" was renamed to public company ""Kyiv confectionery factory "Roshen"".[6]
In 2018, at the site of the factory, it was decided to revamp the area with a new project that would add a skating rink, a technical complex for the video projection of the history of the factory, a dynamic fountain and a technical complex.[7] At the time, Roshen said the cost for the renovation would be 90 million hryvnias and that it would be completed by 2020.[7] It would be known as the "Roshen Plaza" to increase public space in Kyiv.[8] Lady Pink, a graffiti artist from New York, also did a mural on the walls of the factory with a Ukrainian woman, a sunflower, the factory, and a cow.[9] The second stage of the product, the "Winter Village" skating rink and fair, was set to be opened on 7 December 2019 and was worth 170 million hryvnias.[10] The project to revitalize part of the Roshen factory won a bronze medal at the International Design Awards (IDA).[11]
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the factory was occasionally hit by Russian strikes on Kyiv. In September 2025, during a strike, a fire broke out at the factory, which was quickly extinguished.[4] On 24 January 2026, the production building was hit by a missile, which killed one employee at the site and damaged the roof, top floor, facade, and windows.[12][13] Poroshenko called the strike deliberate as it was a civilian workplace.[14] Despite this, the factory's revenue grew to 1.4 billion hryvnias in 2024, and, with authorised capital, to 2.006 billion hryvnias for the year.[15][16]
Products
[edit]The factory produces more than 100 different products of confectionery, including a variety of chocolate bars, candies, cakes, cookies, and fruit jellies. Among the factory's best-known brands are: "Kyiv cake"; "Kyiv Vechirniy" chocolate and nut candies; "Chaika", "Teatralnyi" and "Alionka" plain chocolate bars and other products.
References
[edit]- ↑ Ukraine tells Russia to 'accept reality' of new trade deal with EU Archived 2013-08-28 at the Wayback Machine, Euronews (28 August 2013)
- ↑ The Economics of Chocolate - Page 415 0198726449 Mara P. Squicciarini, Johan F. M. Swinnen - 2016 "Nowadays, Roshen is one of the largest confectionery manufacturers both in and outside of Ukraine."
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Дзіс, А. С. (12 December 2012). "Київська кондитерська фабрика Рошен". Енциклопедія Сучасної України (in Ukrainian). Інститут енциклопедичних досліджень НАН України. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
- 1 2 Крутякова, Тетяна (6 September 2025). "Сильний дим і масштабна пожежа. У Києві горіла фабрика Roshen (відео, фото) - оновлено". Телеграф (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 27 May 2026.
- ↑ "Деміївка 150 років тому: в мережі показали фото майбутньої фабрики "Рошен" в Києві". Апостроф (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2024-03-06.
- ↑ "Війна за "Київський торт". Суд вирішив, що відомим брендом може користуватись лише корпорація Порошенка". Главком | Glavcom (in Ukrainian). 2018-07-19. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
- 1 2 ""Рошен" в 2018г инвестирует 90 млн грн в проект "Рошен Плаза" на площадке Киевской кондфабрики". Interfax (in Russian). 30 January 2018. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ↑ "Roshen Plaza. Що будує на місці Київської фабрики корпорація Порошенка". Економічна правда. 28 September 2018. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ↑ "Фото. Мурал у громадському просторі Roshen Plaza від «першої леді графіті»". The Village Україна. 24 October 2018. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ↑ "Roshen Winter Village вартістю 170 млн грн розпочне роботу в Києві 30 листопада". Інтерфакс-Україна (in Ukrainian). 28 November 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
- ↑ "Українська архітектурна студія maass завоювала International Design Awards / НВ". 2022-02-25. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ↑ Руденко, Олена (24 January 2026). "Росія атакувала шоколадну фабрику у Києві. Як виглядає Roshen після обстрілу (фото і відео)". Телеграф (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 27 May 2026.
- ↑ "Invaders hit building of Roshen confectionery factory in Kyiv, one person killed, 2 injured". Interfax-Ukraine. 24 January 2026. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
- ↑ "Ukraine's Roshen confectionery Kyiv manufacturing site hit by Russian bombing". Confectionery Production. 26 January 2026. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
- ↑ Шаріпов, Олександр (10 March 2025). "Виторг корпорації Roshen у 2024 році зріс до 46,4 млрд грн". Forbes.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 27 May 2026.
- ↑ Morpeth-Spayne, Rebecca (8 July 2024). "Roshen Kyiv confectionery factory increases capital by 33%". International Confectionery Magazine. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
External links
[edit]- Kyiv Confectionery Factory[dead link] Factory's page on Roshen Corporation website