Chelyabinsk produces new food products and opens marketplaces

Chelyabinsk manufacturers brought new products to the market. Relying on new technologies and expanding economic ties make it possible not to succumb to the complexities of the sanctions moment. Hemp oil, candies, FLOUR, condensed MILK, protein and hemp kernels are storming regional and federal marketplaces. Chelyabinsk processors are ready to have their say in science as well.
In Chelyabinsk, the production of food products from hemp seeds is located in two small workshops. In four years, the company has doubled its production area and managed to win the recognition of consumers, among which are mainly people who lead a healthy lifestyle, as well as those who are ready to introduce new products into their diets. Hemp seed contains the optimal combination of omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and gamma-tocopherol, a fat-soluble variety of vitamin E, which is why the product has antioxidant properties.
LLC "Medal" opened the processing of hemp in 2018. From the production of hemp oil and candies to the research and development of microcrystalline cellulose from renewable raw materials, this is the horizon of the company, which is still a small business.
The second birth of hemp growing in RUSSIA (after the actual ban in the last years of Soviet power) began in 2007, but there are still very few manufacturers of food products from such raw materials on the domestic market. There are those who produce monofilament for Mercedes car factories. The first enterprise that produces threads has recently been opened. During the Soviet era, hemp was used mainly in the spinning industry and for the production of butter. Now the list where high-value vegetable renewable raw materials are used includes light industry, cosmetology and pharmaceuticals, food and even construction industries. The food market is still huge, the company says:
“We produce 11 types of products under the trademarks Konkom and Konoplektika,” says Dmitry Ilkov, co-founder, deputy DIRECTOR of Medal LLC. - These are hemp oil, protein (protein), confectionery: sweets, hemp condensed milk, packaged seeds, fried and raw hemp kernels, chocolate paste with hemp. Ready for release hemp bar. Our products are also dietary and diabetic, we use natural sweeteners. We produce flour, which is bought by processing companies. So, for example, in Kyshtym they bake gingerbread with our flour and hemp seeds. Our dream is to replace OLIVE OIL with hemp. Now many large companies are leaving the Russian market, and although the warehouses are still filled with these products, but in just a month or two, there will be no stocks. Small businesses like ours
It is noisy in the primary processing of raw materials during working hours. The raw material - hemp seeds - enters the vibrating drum, where it diverges into large and small fractions. “Then it goes to the brazier for disinfection, at a temperature of 100 degrees it is literally a minute. With such processing, the seed does not lose its useful properties, - Dmitry leads the tour. - Then the fine fraction will go to the screw press to get cake and oil. Another protein (protein) is sifted from the cake, this is a useful dietary supplement for vegetarians. From the large fraction that goes to the peeler, we get hemp kernels. This is a product that can be added to cereals, yogurts, salads, tastes like pine nuts. The hemp seed has a very oily nucleolus, with a fat content of almost 60%. We buy seeds in Russia, in the Penza and Kursk regions. Lots of offers
It turned out that it is more difficult to exfoliate a hemp seed than, for example, a sunflower. A car with certain technical settings that provide a gentle effect and a certain power was made in Germany. By the time the enterprise was launched, there were no manufacturers in the country interested in the production of such equipment. Cannabis peelers have been mass-produced in CHINA, but they are designed either for a very small volume, or, on the contrary, for a powerful production. In "Medal" do not lose hope that Russian equipment manufacturers will be interested in this direction. Confirmation of product quality and safety is also a complex process. Issuing permits takes a long time. Nevertheless, "Medal" in a short period of time confidently entered the list of federal exporters of Russian products.
— We have been exporters since 2019. We started exporting to the nearest countries: Kazakhstan, Belarus, now we also EXPORT to Armenia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan. We are engaged in an active dialogue with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, we have received permits to send the consignment. Our first products went to America, which, by the way, did not close Russian food exports, to a large marketplace. Now we are waiting for the sales statistics,” the HEAD of the enterprise notes.
By the way, despite the sanctions, the company was able to reduce the price of its products when it was forced to replace one of the imported ingredients with a Russian one. Before the sanctions, for the production of cannabis sweets, maltitol syrup was added to replace SUGAR, buying it in Europe. And with the onset of unfavorable import conditions, they decided to replace it with the Russian Jerusalem artichoke syrup. They say that the products have become more useful, and the work of the enterprise is more stable: the risks associated with customs clearance of goods, with a shortage of raw materials have gone. Moreover, Russian producers, according to their Chelyabinsk colleagues, did not go along with the situation and did not start raising prices: the Jerusalem artichoke syrup turned out to be cheaper than the imported ingredient.
True, the label has risen in price. Globalization has had a negative effect here too: inks for label production are supplied from abroad. But manufacturers are sure that these are temporary difficulties. And think about the future. In 2021, the company received the international certificate iso 22000 "International Food Safety Management System Standards".
Medal conducts R&D on the topic: “Development of a technology for the industrial production of microcrystalline cellulose from rapidly renewable raw materials based on effective innovative environmental solutions”, being a co-investor in a project funded by the Russian Innovation Assistance Fund.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Chelyabinsk Region Inna Podshivalova noted that last year the company became the winner of the federal competition "Exporter of the Year", having won first place in the district stage in the nomination "Small and Medium Business". According to her, this is a promising direction, a good company that is not afraid of obstacles:
- One of the functions of the ministry is to promote local producers in the regional market. In connection with the sanctions, some companies have reduced online sales. This prompted new solutions. On the platform of the Ministry, we connect small businesses that create marketplaces for domestic manufacturers and, first of all, our regional producers who are trying to conquer new markets.
Hemp production is environmentally friendly. It is also unique in that the entire plant - from the crown to the root - can be processed with almost no residue. Even the husk is beneficial: it is given to a wild animal shelter for bedding.