Creating tasty and healthy products is an art that Peanut Butter TOM LLC has mastered since 2012, constantly improving and expanding their product range. The Lviv-based company is a leading Ukrainian manufacturer of popular snacks sold online and in major supermarkets across the country. Nut butter, caramel, protein bars, chocolate candies – these delicacies combine incredible taste, high quality, nutritional value and easy storage, which is extremely important under the conditions of the ongoing war.

A special feature of the products manufactured by Peanut Butter TOM LLC is their high energy value, which makes them popular not only with children, youths and professional sportsmen, but also amongst the military. Mr. Taras Fityo, a co-owner of the company, is well aware of this. He himself was a combatant and is now one of over 1 million war veterans in Ukraine. Leadership, strategic thinking and navigating challenges, all unique skills that war veterans possess, are now applied by him in the company to foster business success.

To produce snacks that meet contemporary food trends, Peanut Butter TOM LLC carefully analyses market demands and consumer preferences, uses modern equipment and applies the latest technologies. Despite the wartime challenges, the enterprise strives to develop, explore innovations in the food business and increase production capacity.

Peanut Butter TOM LLC has recently invested in up-scaling the business with a EU4Business-EBRD Credit Line program loan from Bank “Lviv”, which enabled the company to purchase a modern chocolate tempering machine. The new equipment has a 200 kg/h processing capacity while using 24% less energy than the old one and reduces CO₂ emissions of 0.37 t/year. Furthermore, production losses decreased and the final product quality is improved.

The company received a 25% investment incentive on the loan amount, funded by the EU. This special grant was provided under the Veterans and War-Affected Persons Reintegration Window (VRW) initiative.

According to Mr. Taras Fityo, his company participated in the EU4Business-EBRD Credit Line program, as he, a veteran co-owner, was eligible to apply for this elevated special investment incentive, which allowed him to significantly reduce the investment costs, freeing up funds that now contribute to expanding the range of products and the circle of clients, including those in the EU markets.

<em>“The secret of our products is simple: selected nuts, Belgian chocolate. Only the best ingredients without compromises. Investments help us implement the most daring ideas, preserving naturalness and discovering new tastes,” </em>Mr. Taras highlights.<em> “The new equipment has already optimised the workflow and increased production efficiency, paving the ground for further growth and increased competitiveness.”</em>