Golden Brand 2022 - Dear readers

Every successful company creates not only a valuable product, but also value itself, in which it is vital to invest such things as discipline, hard work and intellect to turn every working day into an opportunity, to see a little further than others see, and to notice angles around you which others do not. This is the key to success.

The word “success” unites many things in its significance ⁠— he who can draw conclusions, make specific decisions and, of course, act on time! Patience, the ability to convey to people what only you can see and hear; healthy pragmatism and determination, courage and creativity ⁠— all these qualities are no less important than doing your job every day, and that's what makes a successful business unlike any other.

As for the Golden Brand, for eighteen years it has been moving ever more boldly towards innovation. I will also note that Golden Brand, which researches and rewards brands, has long since become a brand itself. The name of Golden Brand has gone beyond the borders of Georgia, and today not only Georgian, but also the largest international brands are proud of being recognized by it.

It is nice to see that many companies use Golden Brand trademarks in advertising. You can often see Golden Brand labels on various products at shop counters. This means that facts always speak louder than words.

Each year many brands are waiting to win. We do not forget that their success is measured by professional achievements. The stories of all the winning brands over the years prove that anyone can become successful in all important areas of business if they want to. An active personal position, the desire to conquer new heights, an extraordinary approach to solving problems ⁠—  managers with these qualities make a brand exemplary. And finally, I want to congratulate you on victory, and wish you progress and success in all your endeavors!

Milka Wins Fourth Golden Brand Award as Favorite Chocolate of Georgian Customers

Milka, one of nine global chocolate brands in the Mondelēz International family, won its fourth Golden Brand award in a row in the category “favorite chocolate brand”.

About 2,000 customers and more than 100 experts who participated in the survey of Golden Brand named Milka their favorite chocolate.

Nino Enukidze, Perfect Store Activation Manager of Mondelēz Georgia, shared her impressions of Milka’s win in an interview with Golden Brand.

Q. Georgian customers have named Milka their favorite chocolate brand again this year. What brought Milka this recognition, in your opinion?
A. We enjoy two keys to success ⁠— first the power of the Milka brand, and second, brand communication.

Last year we also significantly increased investment in media and digital, launched a new equity campaign, and updated Milka packaging.

Altogether, this helped us to win the hearts of our consumers again.

Q. Golden Brand is given to brands following successful operations of the previous year. Please summarize the year 2022.
A. It was a tough year for the whole team, but we managed to drive positive changes in the market in Georgia through intensified digital activity and strong media support, and outdoor campaigns during the Christmas season.

Last year we were also happy to get the global Effie award, which inspires and champions the practice and practitioners of marketing effectiveness globally, for the Milka “Tender Words” campaign. For us it’s a very important award, as it reflects our efforts to inspire tenderness among people and make relationships between people a little more caring and tender.

Milka grew by double digits in our country last year.

Q. How has 2023 begun for your company, and what are your expectations?
A. We began this year with the new equity rollout on all the platforms. We also carried out a tailor-made promo with Spar, and a spring seasonal with Milka pralines.

Q. What are some recent developments of Milka as a brand? Please share the brand's progress on the Georgian market.
A. Milka is positioned globally as an ambassador of tenderness, that’s what we stand for and what we have brought to our consumers over 100 years all over the world. Recently in Georgia we have kept our focus on tenderness in line with the global equity message.

Q. Please tell us about the future plans of Milka in Georgia. Do you plan to introduce new products to Georgia and which would those be?
A. Georgian customers are one of the most snack-friendly audiences. We see that they are eager to try new products and flavors. That’s why we are encouraged to offer new products. But precise flavors and design are a secret!

Q. What share does Georgia have in Milka’s global presence?
A. We consider the Georgian market a focus market for our business.

Years of work here have shown that local customers greet our innovations with enthusiasm and excitement. So we definitely want to continue investments in the growth of our brand here.

Q. Please tell us your opinion, what makes Milka unique and why do Georgian customers love it?
A. Milka is unique because of the tenderness of its chocolate and smooth milky taste – this is what brings customers back to us.

Q. What investments does Mondelez make in Georgia to promote Milka?
A. We are increasing our investments in TV, digital and outdoor every year with special attention to the Georgian market as we see positive feedback from consumers here. Milka Georgia is one of the biggest markets in Eurasia BU and we focus on that.

Mildronate® - Georgian Customers’ Favorite Drug For Improving Physical Capacity

Mildronate®, produced by the leading pharmaceutical company in the Baltic states, Grindeks, has won the most prestigious and influential business award in Georgia, the Golden Brand, in the category “favorite medication for restoration of physical capacity” for 2022.

In addition to Mildronate®, Grindeks, which has been operating on the Georgian market for more than 20 years, offers about 50 medicines and plans to introduce more in 2023-2024.

Grindeks' product portfolio includes original products, generics, and active pharmaceutical ingredients, all produced in line with internationally-recognized safety and quality standards and sold in more than 100 countries worldwide.

Head of Grindeks Representative office in Georgia, Natia Kikvadze, shared the story of Mildronate® in clinical practice and talked about the company’s future in Georgia with Golden Brand.

Q. In the category of “favorite medication for restoration of physical capacity”, Mildronate® has won the Golden Brand award. Why do you think experts and consumers named Mildronate® their favorite brand?
A. Mildronate® has a tonic effect on the central nervous system, improves mental activity, attention and memory concentration, restores the body's energy reserves during physical and mental overload, and helps maintain mental and physical activity, which of course has a positive effect on quality of life.

We've seen many cases where a patient recalls feeling better and more energetic while using Mildronate® and asks the doctor to prescribe the medication again.

Mildronate® has been present in the pharmaceutical market of Georgia for several decades and its effectiveness and safety have been tested by thousands of doctors and patients.

Mildronate® is available in all pharmacy chains - Aversi, GPC, Pharmadepot, PSP, Impex, Pharm House - and in private pharmacies.

Q. What were the sales statistics of Mildronate® in 2022?
A. Sales of Mildronate® have been steadily increasing year by year. It increased significantly during and after the pandemic, which was due to the high effectiveness of the medicine in post-COVID asthenia, and its ability to reduce cardiovascular complications in patients with COVID-19.
Many new patients and doctors experienced the effects of Mildronate®. In 2022, sales of Mildronate® increased by 19% compared to the previous year.

Q. What makes this medication so popular on the market and what is its most notable advantage?
A. Mildronate® is an original product with a dual mechanism of action for patients with cardiovascular diseases, which provides multifactorial protection of organs and tissues. It is the only metabolic drug capable of protecting both the heart and the brain, blood vessels, from ischemic damage in patients with angina, chronic heart failure, and blood circulation disorders in the brain.

In addition, it increases tolerance for physical activities and improves cognitive function. It can be used both in patients and in healthy individuals to improve physical and mental performance. Similar multifaceted therapeutic effect is not characteristic of any other metabolic means, which makes Mildronate® unique and unrivaled.

Q. What are the recent developments and future plans of Grindeks Georgia?
A. Grindeks is the leading pharmaceutical manufacturer in the Baltic states, operating since 1946. Over the years we have been recognized for helping millions of patients worldwide.

Grindeks’ product portfolio is composed of original products, generics, and active pharmaceutical ingredients, all produced in line with the world-class requirements of safety and quality.

As for recent activities in Georgia, we offer high quality products, so our market share and customer demand increase annually.

The Grindeks office in Georgia is also hiring new people all the time, and we have offices in Tbilisi and western Georgia.

We try to contribute to the postgraduate education of medical personnel, and we organize local conferences and sponsor events organized by various medical associations.

Q. Grindeks was planning to register diabetes medications in Georgia. Please tell us how these plans were realized.
A. Yes, in 2023 we registered the diabetes medication Sitagliptin and an anti-itching skin product Dimestil gel. Products will appear in April for retail selling.

Three more medicines will be registered by the end of this year, and five medicines are planned to be registered in 2024.

So far the Grindeks portfolio includes 50 medicines, with 75 products total according to forms and dosages.

Q. How does the head office of Grdinkes evaluate the activities of the office in Georgia?
A. The head office appreciates the contribution of each country to the development of the entire company, so recognition of Grindeks products by Georgian patients and healthcare professionals is highly valued. Every year, when the best employees are announced, there is one from Georgia.

The communication between our two countries is effective and both parties rely on professional international teamwork. Georgia is always considered a leading country from the business development point of view.

Q. What is the contribution of Grindeks in developing the Georgian pharmaceutical market?
A. Medications registered in Georgia are in the following therapeutic groups: cardiovascular, central nervous system, and now products for diabetes treatment.

I think Grindeks contributes to the Georgian market development largely because our generics are of European quality yet low-cost.

Our goal is to improve people's quality of life and increase access to medical solutions in Georgia.

Mildiani Family Winery: 32 Years of Winemaking Expertise

It all began with the love of wine-making, which united four brothers of the Mildiani family to establish a winery and continue 8,000 years of Georgian history with the best combination of traditional and modern methods.

Eldari, Levani, Leri and Pridoni’s first step was to buy locally-produced wine and export it to Russia. The brothers saw there was potential in the business and decided to create a wine pouring enterprise in the country’s ancient city of Mtskheta back in the ‘90s.

Soon a ceramic shop was also built there that produced different kinds of ceramic bottles for wine. The bottled wine was sold for export.

After a few years the brothers moved from Mtskheta to the country’s wine region of Kakheti, where they established a private wine company in the special winery microzone of the village of Tsinandali. Since then the company has been producing the best quality wines and other grape-based alcohol beverages.

These have gained many international awards and badges over the years. The 2002 harvest Saperavi wine of Mildiani Winery was awarded a silver badge in the Paris 2004 international wine contest Vinalies Internationales. It was the first Georgian wine to receive such an award since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Today Mildiani Family Winery owns vineyards in different winery zones in Kakheti, including the Kindzmarauli, Napareuli and Tsinandali microzones, and is now a group comprised of Tsinandali Old Marani, Gurjaani Wine Marani, souvenir wine enterprise Vazi-1, and a distribution company, Letre.

The company produces not only wine, but brandy, chacha and other alcoholic beverages, and sells their product not only in Georgia but in 21 other countries.

Being a winner of Sakura Japan Women's Wine Awards, Mildiani has thus also been praised and awarded with the local business award of Golden Brand.

Eldar Mildiani talked with Golden Brand about their family label’s wines.

Q. The experts and customers who participated in the survey of Golden Brand lauded Mildiani Family Winery’s successful activities of 2022 and named it their favorite winery. Could you please summarize 2022?
A. First of all, thank you for this wonderful award. It really means a lot to us.
I think that purposefulness and many years of hard work have yielded this result.

Regulations imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19 were lifted in Georgia like in other countries of the world and as a business we finally became free in 2022. Despite the pandemic and the decline in sales in previous years, we paid attention to the market as before. This in itself raised the level of trust in our winery. I think that was one of the main factors that led us to the Golden Brand award.

High quality and the variety of our portfolio also made an impression on experts and customers.

Q. I agree, Mildiani Family Winery is truly distinguished with its diverse products, which are very different from what other companies are offering. Please introduce your wines to our readers.
A. As you know, we produce wine-based drinks. These are wine, chacha, brandy, sparkling wine, liquor wine, wine in ceramics, wines in souvenir packaging, honey vodka Tapluchi, and others. In total we produce about 150 sorts of alcoholic beverages.

Q. Wine fermented in the traditional qvevri clay vessels, buried underground and made with grapes of French origin but grown in Kakheti, was especially popular. How did this idea come about?
A. Yes, you are talking about Cabernet Sauvignon. This grape variety has been cultivated in Kakheti for a long time. The idea of putting it in a qvevri arose by itself. We were wondering what the qvevri’s Cabernet would be like. Our hopes were justified and will continue production of this wine variety in the future.

Q. In general, what kind of winemaking technology has the winery developed over the years?
A. I probably wouldn't call it our technology, but we have our signature, of course.

Q. You also offer dessert wines, liqueurs with chocolate and cherry flavors ⁠— how popular is this line among consumers and how did you create these products?
A. Practice has shown that people interested in flavored wine are quite an important part of our society. We just try to have a product for every taste.

Q. Please tell us which countries Mildiani wines are exported to?
A. Mildiani wine is exported to almost all continents of the world, including in many European countries such as Germany, France, Poland, Holland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Hungary. We export to England, America and Canada. We cooperate with Ukraine and different post-Soviet countries.

We are also active in the Asian market. China and Japan are our largest partner countries in Asia.

Our company tries its best to expand its presence on the international market and popularize Georgian wine all over the world.

Q. What are the sales statistics on the domestic market?
A. We are satisfied with the sales figures of 2022. Compared to the previous year, we had an increase of 28%. At the moment we are in the top five in terms of market share. Both our qvevri line and classic wines are selling well and are profitable.