Tazo Kakushadze, the founder of the juice-producing company "Khilari", says that at the moment the company produces 9 types of fruit juices and it is planned to expand production this year.
As he told bm.ge, currently the juice is offered in glass bottles, which are completely exported, although the company claims that it may be bottled in cardboard packaging and sold on the Georgian market.
"At this stage, we produce 9 types of juices and they are mainly exported to Latvia and Israel. Now we are starting to work on the US market. We were at the exhibition with the support of "Enterprise Georgia" and we had negotiations with US companies. We can process 1200 tons of fruit per year, which means producing 700-800 tons of juice. Demand is high, but we do not enter some markets due to regulations. Our products are not cheap, therefore, our target is a market where glass bottles and quality are valued. This is mostly the European market", said Kakushadze.
According to him, work is underway to expand in the direction of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, USA and Canada, and this is thier plan until the end of the year.
In addition, the company also produced "Khilari" fruit vodka, which is expected to be sold mainly in the retail sector in Georgia.
A fruit processing enterprise equipped with modern standards LLC "Khilari" was established in 2017 in the village of Shavshvebi, Gori Municipality, within the framework of the "Unified Agro Project" of the Rural and Agricultural Development Agency. The enterprise benefited from preferential agro-credit in the amount of GEL 700,000, and also received a grant from the state in the amount of GEL 600,000. At this stage, the enterprise employs 7 people. The products can be purchased in several stores in Tbilisi and Batumi, and the juices are exported to America and Qatar.
