Fresh and full of flavour Victoria Cymes

fREsh and fuLL of fLavouR

Victoria Cymes is a leading Polish producer of fruit syrups, fresh and pasteurised juices, fruit drinks and smoothies in a wide range of flavours.

Victoria Cymes was founded in 1981 by Mr Lech Kurkowski. Initially, it consisted of a factory producing carbonated beverages and waters. Over time, the production range has increased to include syrups and juices in 1-litre and 200-millilitre cartons. In 2007, the company launched a line of fresh juices, which have become a great success and enabled it to reach a leading position in its sector.

Victoria Cymes started as a small firm but over time it has become one of the largest producers of concentrated syrups and various kinds of juices in Poland. The company owes its success to the unique recipes and high quality of its products and, equally, to the fact that Victoria Cymes has been managed by the owner of the company, Mr Lech Krukowski, since its establishment. The decision-making process is shorter

in comparison to large corporations, which translates into greater flexibility. In conclusion, it can respond rapidly to market challenges as well as to difficult situations.

Victoria Cymes enters europe

Victoria Cymes’ current range of products comprises more than 160 fruit syrups, bartenders’ syrups, fresh and pasteurised juices, fruit drinks, still and carbonated drinks. Today it employs 350 people. The company owns a factory equipped with 15 production lines. It is based in Walcz, a town in north-western Poland, located 150km from the German border. It also owns nine warehouses scattered throughout Poland, which enables it to deliver its products quickly to the most remote parts of the country.

According to the company’s website, its annual sales are estimated at €100 million. During the last couple of years, Victoria Cymes has been actively developing its presence on the foreign markets. Exports make up 10 per cent of overall sales, with its products already present on many markets, including Germany, Sweden, Ireland, Croatia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, the UK, the USA and the UAE.

Victoria Cymes was also the first food and beverage company in Poland to implement the high-pressure processing (HPP) of fruits and juices. This revolutionary, sophisticated method will allow the company to launch brand new products.

Water is the key factor

The high quality of the Pleistocene water drawn from the company’s own deep wells is the cornerstone on which its business is based. Currently, Victoria Cymes has three water intakes but is planning further drillings. Victoria Cymes is located in a very ecological region, where forests and lakes occupy 40 per cent of the whole area with no presence of heavy industry.

The factory’s laboratory carries out stringent testing on raw materials before they are sent for production, as well as any finished product, which is later stored in the laboratory archives.

The quality of the products is confirmed by numerous certificates and awards, including: the 2008 Consumer Golden Laurel for the Fresh Cymes juices series; the Gold Medal at the 2012 International Gastronomy Fair in Poznan for naturally turbid red beet juice; the Good Product 2014 certificate for fresh carrot juice; 1st place in the 2014 FMCG Hits for Fresh Cymes carrot juice and apple juice (the ‘health-promoting products’ category); the Polish Merchants Award for the ‘Sunny fruit’ syrup with raspberry flavour in the 2015 ‘Golden Paragon’ competition; ‘Know Good Food’ Awards for fresh apple juice, fresh carrot and celery juice, and fresh carrot juice in 2015, for ‘Smaki Victorii’ naturally cloudy apple juice, naturally cloudy raspberry and apple juice and naturally cloudy orange juice in 2016, and ‘Smaki Victorii’ naturally cloudy apple and cranberry juice and fresh beetroot juice in 2017; the ‘Buy Polish’ Certificate in the 2016; and ‘Quality and Tradition’ Certificates for fresh celery and carrot juice and carrot juice in 2017, to name but a few.

Victoria Cymes cooperates with both international corporations and local companies. It selects its partners very carefully and prefers longterm relationships. The company is a reliable partner, which enables it to establish permanent cooperations with such market leaders as: FLOTTWEG (a manufacturer of machines and systems for mechanical liquid-solid separation), ITALMEX Warszawa Sp. z o.o. (an importer and distributor of branded food products from Italy, Spain and Greece), NOVADAM (a provider of professional cleaning detergents and hygiene solutions), and Gat Givat Haim Cooperative Society for the Preservation of Agricultural Products from Israel.

Victoria Cymes’ products can be found both in small, local shops and in large retail chains, including InterMarche, Spar, Carrefour, Makro, Fresh Market and Lewiatan. It is also a well-recognised producer of juices and syrups developed to order, under private labels. In this respect, it cooperates with many commercial networks in Poland and in the foreign markets. n