 | |
Native name | Світоч |
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Confectionery |
| Founded | 1962 in Lviv, Ukrainian SSR |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people |
|
| Parent | Nestlé |
| Website | Svitoch on Nestle Ukraine website |
Svitoch (Ukrainian: Світоч) is a Lviv-based Ukrainian confectionery manufacturer. It is owned by Nestlé since 1998.[2] The company produces chocolate, chocolate candy, lollipops and many other types of candy.
The confectionery was established as Svitoch in 1962 through the merging of various confectionaries,[3] although it traces its history under other names to 1882.[4] In the Soviet era, Svitoch was considered one of the best manufacturers, along with the Rot Front and Babaevsky chocolate factories.[citation needed] After its acquisition by Nestlé in mid-1990s, the company opted to produce more Western-style chocolate with lower cocoa content and was forced to move into middle segment of the market, losing some of its appeal, but gaining greater turnovers. It is unclear how this will affect its future development, though, as dark, highly sophisticated chocolate is becoming increasingly more popular with Ukrainians. This change in strategy provoked a labour dispute in late 1990s.[citation needed]
In 2013, Nestlé invested $4.4 million in modernising the Svitoch factory.[5]
Svitoch rebranded Strela candy (Ukrainian: Стріла - Arrow) as Stozhary (Ukrainian: Стожари - Pleiades)[6] but had little success.[citation needed]
At the beginning of 2015, it was a modern, high-tech, scientifically intensive and developing enterprise. There are lines for the production of waffles, chocolate bars and candies, a fundamentally new automated production for the preparation of chocolate masses.[7]
