How my business idea was born

The MISSO brand was founded more than 12 years ago as an importer of a wide range of nuts and dried fruits, including snack products, as well as a producer of bars, though originally with recipes containing fructose-glucose syrup.

But with the beginning of the full-scale invasion came a new awareness: life is too short to run a business just for the sake of business. That was when a clear vision was formed — to become the first brand in Ukraine to support and revive the global trend of “national longevity” through the culture of nut consumption in the Health format, while preserving their biological value.

From that moment, we reduced our product portfolio by 37%, leaving only healthy nutrition products. We changed recipes, adjusted technological processes, and carried out a rebranding, choosing the Health niche, which at that time was not a profit-generating segment of the market. But the decision to be the first to start building a culture of healthy eating was more important than money.

The idea of creating the first plant-based candies and bars from Ukrainian berries came after the government’s initial request to businesses: to create added value, which is nearly impossible with a portfolio consisting of 90% imported raw materials.

I deeply admire the agricultural potential of our country because I am convinced that our black soil produces the most flavorful fruits.

The dream of linking business with the Ukrainian agricultural sector led us to a decision: we found a holding company with its own berry fields and high-tech certified processing. They agreed to supply us with frozen berries in their own juice, without sugar. Since then, all subsequent developments have been focused exclusively on creating functional products made of 100% plant-based ingredients, because biological components are closer to our bodies than synthetic ones.

A useful skill or habit that helps me at work

Constant analysis of forecasts from futurists, visionaries, and philosophers. It’s important not only to react to the present but also to see humanity’s behavioral trends years ahead. This allows a business to become part of solving problems before they become global.

The most important advice I’ve ever received

A great product is created by happy people who feel like an important part of success. Never stop investing in your team’s satisfaction. Innovation always belongs to happy people.

And one more thing: don’t build your strategy by copying successful people or businesses. By adopting even one element of someone else’s strategy, I lose the chance for undeniable uniqueness. I choose the path of making mistakes, paying for them as a “training fee” for what not to do — and then creating an unmatched, unique solution.

The three core principles of my business philosophy

Ecosystem inside and out. Fair pricing, fair cost, fair agreements, and dignified exits from any partnerships. Our guiding principle is to give anyone involved with the brand much more than just a product. It can be an experience, an idea, an investment in growth — anything that plants a seed for development.

Fairness. The company has two co-owners — representatives of Islam and Christianity. Both are united by a key law: fairness. This means making the right decisions from a religious perspective, even when profitability suggests otherwise. It’s about dignity, justified criticism without subjectivity, and ensuring that every partner, employee, or customer receives equal or greater value than what they paid for in money, honesty, or choice.

Lean principles. We implement the philosophy of the Lean Institute: optimization, efficiency, elimination of excess.

How we overcame a business crisis

The biggest crisis was the war: staff shortages, lack of technical capacity for imports, “critical import” mode that excluded nuts, unstable exchange rates, inflation, and people’s unwillingness to spend on “non-essentials.” Our response:

• creating living and working conditions for the team in Kyiv during the siege of the city;

• uninterrupted company operations, including supply chains through “green corridors,” despite blackouts and communication outages;

• training team members in interchangeability;

• focusing on high-turnover products;

• opening a technical import line for critical goods when international brands stopped supplying Ukraine, thus covering strategic needs and funding further brand investments;

• shaping corporate culture and team psychological resilience.

A crisis never begins with the economy, but with a shift in team focus. Only then is it worth changing the economic model. We negotiated margin optimization with key partners and created the lowest possible price for the customer. It was risky for the business, but in extraordinary conditions, extraordinary solutions are needed.

What is the best advertising for us

Organic promotion — when people choose you for your packaging, and the aftertaste inspires them to share the brand on social media.

What money loves

Money loves reinvestment. Profit is not the goal but a tool for the brand’s longevity.

What my business will look like in five years

In 5 years, I see our brand as a management company in Ukraine with a subsidiary in the EU. In Ukraine, it will consist of three divisions:

• importer of core and related goods;

• distribution of brand-related products under private label, including self-service retail outlets;

• production of functional nutritional products.

Where I find inspiration

I find inspiration in the people I work for, as well as in society’s feedback about the company.

What’s hot in my business right now

We have developed fruit-and-nut candies of entirely plant-based composition, rated NutriScore A. They contain no added sugar, milk, gluten, or artificial additives. For sweetening, we used maltitol, and instead of honey — chicory syrup with prebiotic properties.

A question I would like to be asked to better reveal my work

Why, among all the companies represented at an international trade exhibition, should you become the national choice for Ukrainian retail?

How would I answer this question?

We are not just a company. We are carriers of a philosophy that looks to the future not through volumes but through value. In a world where food production is increasingly based on chemical formulas and artificial intelligence, Ukraine has a unique asset — living biological value. We don’t just produce — we cultivate. And that is our strength.

We believe that true food evolution does not lie in synthetic additives and multi-stage processing. It is in the short chain from soil to table, in a product that hasn’t lost its vitality because it was preserved with love and respect for nature. And this is not just words — it’s our operational standard.

We don’t have dozens of factories across Europe. Our production line is a taste laboratory where every technologist is a co-author of ideas. We are not about mass production but about uniqueness. About the market segment where a client doesn’t look for “just another SKU on the shelf,” but builds an assortment that reflects the ideology of their business. We believe in service as a philosophy: “a business without a soul has no future.”

My advice to entrepreneurs

The most valuable asset is the team’s adaptive intelligence. But that’s not enough: every top manager should treat their department as their own business.

A large company is like the Titanic: it takes hundreds of miles to turn. I believe in the “yacht” model — small autonomous divisions that maneuver quickly and together form a powerful locomotive.

The new column “Rules/Success/Business” by the Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office expert Valentyna Liashenko will share with you a lot of breathtaking business ideas, advice, and insights from both Ukrainian and worldwide business owners. We will introduce you to the interviews of company owners from different fields and countries.