Nestlé in Ukraine plans to increase investments in new factory in Volyn to EUR 70 mln in 2026
Nestlé in 2025 fully implemented the investment plan in Ukraine in the amount of UAH 9.5 billion and intends to increase capital investments in its new production site in Smolyhiv (Volyn region) to EUR 70 million by the end of 2027, Nestlé CEO in Ukraine and South-Eastern Europe Alessandro Zanelli said in a column for the NV publication.
"At the beginning of the year, I announced that we planned to invest about UAH 9.5 billion in Ukraine, and we have met that forecast. In 2025, we achieved roughly double growth," he wrote.
Zanelli highlighted the launch of a new factory in Smolyhiv in April 2025 as a key industrial project of recent years. Initial investments in the facility totaled EUR 43 million, but the company plans to expand capacity. By the end of 2027, total investments in the site are expected to reach EUR 70 million. The factory’s design capacity will allow it to produce 40,000 tons of vermicelli per year for export to Europe, the United States, and Mexico.
Zanelli noted that production in Smolyhiv is highly automated, requiring half as many employees while demanding higher skill levels. To meet this need, the company has established its own production academy.
In addition to industrial and commercial investments, Nestlé has allocated nearly $18 million to its Ukraine WeCare program, which focuses on employee safety as well as physical and mental health (excluding shelter-related expenses). The company also invests about EUR 10 million annually in modernization and quality improvements at its existing production facilities.
The CEO of Nestlé Ukraine also announced that, starting in 2026, he will move to lead the company’s Eastern Europe division and will leave the Ukrainian office.
Nestlé began operating in Ukraine in 1994 with the opening of a representative office. In 1998, it acquired a controlling stake in the Lviv Confectionery Factory Svitotch, and since 2018 has owned 100% of the company’s shares. In May 2003, Nestlé Ukraine LLC was established in Kyiv, and by the end of that year, Nestlé became the sole owner of Volynholding.
