Polish food and beverage giant Maspex buys leading Ukrainian drinks firm Karpatski Mineralni Vody

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Poland’s largest food and beverage firm, Maspex, has bought an 80% stake in one of Ukraine’s biggest producers of bottled water and soft drinks, Karpatski Mineralni Vody, as the Polish company continues to expand through acquisitions in Central and Eastern Europe.

The deal will allow Maspex to produce some of its products – which include brands such as Tymbark and Tarczyn juices – at a plant that will soon open in the Lviv province in western Ukraine.

The parties have not disclosed the deal’s financial details. However, Polish media cite expert estimates of between $30 million and $50 million (113-189 million zloty).

“The Ukrainian market is large and has great potential,” said Maspex’s CEO Krzysztof Pawiński, quoted by news website XYZ. “We want to grow in it, develop our offering and enter more deeply into distribution.”

Maspex, founded in 1990 and headquartered in the town of Wadowice, has annual revenue of around 16 billion zloty and sells products in 80 countries around the world.

The group leads the juices market in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania, as well as the pasta, sauces and jam markets in Poland. Its brands include Krakus pickles and soups, Soplica vodka, Łowicz jams, Tiger energy drinks, and Lubella pasta.

Maspex has been seeking to expand in Central and Eastern Europe. Last year, it bought Purcari Wineries, the largest wine producer in Romania. That followed the purchase in 2024 of Jan Becher – Karlovarská Becherovka, the Czech Republic’s oldest alcohol brand.

Maspex already sells some of its products in Ukraine but does not own production facilities there. Pawiński says that Ukraine is a “natural direction for us to strengthen our position in Central and Eastern Europe even more”.

According to Polish media outlets, the deal, which was first reported by Forbes Ukraine earlier this month, will allow Maspex to produce its juices in Ukraine at a new production facility in the Lviv province, which will open in August this year.

According to Portal Spożywczy, an industry news service, Karpatski Mineralni Vody will meanwhile gain access to some of Maspex’s product portfolio as well as its production technology.

The Ukrainian firm’s CEO, Serhiy Ustenko, told Forbes Ukraine that, under the deal, 80% of his company would be owned by Maspex while he would retain a 20% stake. He added that management would remain unchanged.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, many firms have had concerns about investing in the country. Foreign direct investment in Ukraine fell by 26% year-on-year in 2024.

However, Maspex’s CEO says that “we look to Ukraine with hope and confidence in its recovery. This is an investment in the future. We believe this market has the potential to become one of the most important growth engines in the entire region”.

Poland is currently hosting the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk, with many Polish firms seeking to benefit from efforts to rebuild the country after the war.

However, the event has been overshadowed by a diplomatic dispute between Polish President Karol Nawrocki and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, that has resulted in Zelensky cancelling plans to attend the conference.

As Poland’s economy has boomed in recent years, the country’s firms have increasingly looked to invest and expand abroad.

Earlier this year, Polish train and tram manufacturer Pesa acquired German rival HeiterBlick, while electronics firm Vigo Photonics bought American competitor InfraRed Associates.

One of the largest success stories has been delivery and logistics giant InPost, which now operates in nine countries across Europe, including the UK, France, Spain, Italy and Belgium.

Last month, Poland’s largest insurance group, PZU, signed an agreement to acquire MetLife Ukraine, which is the biggest provider of life insurance in Ukraine

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Maspex (press materials)

Olivier Sorgho

Olivier Sorgho is senior editor at Notes from Poland, covering politics, business and society. He previously worked for Reuters.