is a beverage and food company in Russia and one of the largest processors of raw milk.

Source: http://wbd.ru/

History of Wimm Bill Dann

The history of the Wimm-Bill-Dann company dates back to 1992, when Sergey Plastinin and Mikhail Dubinin rented a production line and began producing packaged juices under the Wimm-Bill-Dann brand. In just three years, LMK, the largest dairy plant in Eastern Europe, will become the first own production asset of a young domestic company.

In 1993, Wimm-Bill-Dann launched the production of yogurt. At that time, this type of dairy product was little known and was just beginning to gain popularity among consumers.

In 1994, Wimm-Bill-Dann launched the first domestic brand of packaged juices – J7. Today J7 is the leader in the premium segment of the Russian juice market.1

In 1996, the company expanded its portfolio of brands and began producing traditional dairy products "Domik v Derevne". Today, thousands of families across the country trust Domik v Derevne’s natural dairy products, and the brand itself is one of the leaders in the dairy products market. “Domik v Derevne” products are annually awarded the “Product of the Year” award, and in 2011 the brand was awarded medals and the Grand Prix of the All-Russian tasting competition “Milk Success”. The brand occupies the first lines in status ratings, was awarded the “100 Best Products of Russia” award, is included in the list of the most valuable Russian brands in the Interbrand catalog, and according to the rating of Forbes2 magazine it is included in the TOP 10 largest Russian brands.

1998 is a landmark year in the company's history. This year, Wimm-Bill-Dann begins active regional expansion, acquiring enterprises in Vladivostok, Ufa, Nizhny Novgorod and the Krasnodar Territory. The basis of the successful business of Wimm-Bill-Dann is its focus on innovation: the company was one of the first in Russia to launch mass production of food products in aseptic cardboard packaging, which made it possible to bring product distribution to a qualitatively new level, ensuring its safety for a long time. The successful location of production facilities, their modernization and the high professional level of employees, consistently high quality products laid the foundation for the company's success in the market and made Wimm-Bill-Dann a leader in the domestic food industry.

In 1998, Wimm-Bill-Dann introduced two new products to the market - Miracle yogurt and Miracle Berry fruit drink. Berry fruit drink “Miracle Berry”, prepared according to traditional Russian recipes from forest and garden berries, became the first packaged fruit drink in Russia.

In the same year, Wimm-Bill-Dann introduced Miracle yoghurts to the market. At first, they had only a few flavors and were packaged in small plastic cups. Today, the Miracle brand is the leader in the domestic market of yoghurts and desserts3 and has 95 different types of products.

The year 1999 was marked for the company with innovations in the dairy segment. Wimm-Bill-Dann begins production of bio-kefir Bio Max, which became the first specialized brand of fortified dairy products in Russia.

Expansion of geography and increase in production volumes leads to the fact that the company begins to feel a shortage of high-quality raw milk. This situation is pushing Wimm-Bill-Dann to create a comprehensive system of measures to support domestic milk producers. In 1999, the company launched the “Milk Rivers” program, which included commodity loans, leasing of production equipment and, in fact, became the first program for domestic business to support the agro-industrial complex.

In the same year, the company launches “Lyubimy Sad” juices and nectars on the market, today produced under the “Lyubimy” brand. Today, the company, which includes Wimm-Bill-Dann, has three of the most successful brands in the domestic juice market: J7 is in first place, Fruit Garden is in second, and Lyubimy is in third. 4

In 2000, a brand of dairy products, “Vesely Milkman”, entered the market. In the same year, Wimm-Bill-Dann acquired production facilities in Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.

In 2001, Wimm-Bill-Dann entered the baby food market, launching production under the Agusha brand as the first domestic baby food brand. For more than four years in a row, Agusha has been the leader in the baby food market in Russia.5

In 2002, Wimm-Bill-Dann became the first domestic food company to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The initial public offering brought the company $200 million.

In 2003, Wimm-Bill-Dann acquired the Essentuki Plant and began producing Essentuki No. 4 and No. 17 under its own brand. In the same year, in the city of Rubtsovsk, Altai Territory, the production of Lambert cheese, the first domestic yellow cheese, successfully competing with imported products in the yellow cheese category, was launched. In parallel with this, the production of the functional milk drink Imunele begins in Moscow. Subsequently, the product line of this brand included Imunele for Men and Imunele for Kids.

In 2007, the company introduced Agusha juices, fruit, vegetable and meat purees to the market. And next year, baby powdered milk formulas. Today, 108 varieties of products are produced under the Agusha brand.

In February 2011, Wimm-Bill-Dann, the largest producer of juices and dairy products in Russia, joins the PepsiCo family. After acquiring Wimm-Bill-Dann, PepsiCo became Russia's largest food and beverage company.

Wimm Bill Dann brands

• Juices and nectars “Favorite”
• Dairy products "Frugurt"
• Dairy products "House in the Village"
• Dairy products "Imunele"
• Baby food "Agusha"
• Dairy products "Mazhitel"
• Mineral water "Essentuki"
• Cheeses "Lambert"
• Dairy products "Miracle"
• Mineral water "Springs of Russia"
• Juices and nectars “100% Gold”
• Baby food "Zdrivers"
• Juices and nectars “J7”
• Dairy products "BIO MAX"
• Dairy products "Jolly Milkman"
• Dairy products "Kubanskaya Burenka"
• Fruit drinks "Miracle Berry"
• Cheeses "Granfort"
• Quaker Dairy Products

Born on the basis of the Lianozovsky MK workshop in 1992, the joint-stock company has become part of PepsiCo since 2011. Today Wimm-Bill-Dann is known throughout the Russian Federation as the largest manufacturer of quality products. Owns nineteen brands. Distributes its products through commercial retailers and convenience stores.

• mineral water;
• beverages;
• fruit drinks;
• juices and nectars,
• milk, dairy products;
• baby food,
• cheeses.

Distribution channels: hyper- and supermarkets, retail outlets within walking distance of the “At home” format.

Wimm-Bill-Dann is constantly expanding its product line, offering new healthy products to consumers.

Participant in charity projects to support motherhood and childhood. Provides baby food to dairy kitchens. Arranges promotions for consumers in order to develop brand loyalty.

Acts as a partner in various charity events, collaborates with the Foodbank Rus Foundation, Operation Smile, Hope Around the World, etc. Helps children with disabilities and also invests in social projects aimed at improving living conditions.

Company video

Advantages, features, facts

Wimm-Bill-Dann is one of the most famous manufacturers on the market. Started in 1992, the company is constantly developing, creating high quality products. In 2011, Wimm-Bill-Dann became a member of the PepsiCo group of companies, which allowed the latter to become one of the most promising beverage producers, as well as a processor of raw milk.

Development started in 1992. Then a line was equipped for production at the dairy plant. The production of packaged juices began. Even then the brand was Wimm-Bill-Dann. In subsequent years there has been successful development. In 1998, she launched the well-known Miracle yogurt on the market, which both children and adults immediately fell in love with. 1999 was the time of release of Bio Max, another popular product. Then the company launches “Milk Rivers”, and a little later it creates the “Jolly Milkman” brand. At the same time, production expanded due to additional equipment purchased in Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. In 2001, the company began producing food for children. The well-known brand “Agusha” is also a product of “Wimm-Bill-Dann”. Step by step, the manufacturer conquers new heights. Fruit, baby and vegetable mixtures appeared on the market in 2007, and immediately began to enjoy great popularity. At the moment, the total number of existing products manufactured by Wimm-Bill-Dann exceeds 108 units. In 2011, the company managed to become one of the most powerful, and is not going to stop there, developing and constantly improving.

In total, 19 brands are successfully operating within the company, among them the well-known Agusha, Imunele, Miracle Detki, Tonus, Vesely Milkman, and Lambert. You can find them in almost every store, and they are easy to recognize thanks to the bright, stylish and innovative packaging that perfectly preserves the taste and quality of the product. As for the price category, it is accessible to every average resident of the country. At the same time, the price-quality ratio is excellent. Thus, Wimm-Bill-Dann Food Products LLC is a reliable company whose work consists of advantages. Famous, in demand. She still has many important moments ahead, the implementation of new, bold ideas. Consumers can only wait for the release of products that will undoubtedly become recognized favorites.

History of JSC "WIMM-BILL-DANN"

1993

Launch of yoghurt production

1996

Release of dairy products "House in the Village"

2001

Entering the baby food market

2011

Part of the PepsiCo group

Sells products wholesale

Soft drinks

Since 1998, Wimm-Bill-Dann began actively acquiring dairy enterprises in the regions of Russia and the CIS countries, creating a unified production network. Today, one of the main competitive advantages of the company is that Wimm-Bill-Dann is not a regional or Moscow-based manufacturer, but a national Russian manufacturer. The WBD strategy is to produce dairy products in the region where they are consumed. Inexpensive milk, which is processed locally, and good environmental conditions help the company supply the best dairy products to the Russian market at reasonable prices.

Wimm-Bill-Dann Food Products (WBD, WBD, NYSE: WBD, MICEX: WBDF, RTS: WBDF) is a Russian food company. Full name: Open Joint Stock Company Wimm-Bill-Dann Food Products. Headquarters is in Moscow.

Created in 1992.

OJSC Wimm-Bill-Dann Food Products owns 36 production enterprises producing dairy products, juices and mineral water, as well as sales centers in more than 25 cities in Russia and the CIS countries. The company owns the trademarks “J7”, “100% Gold Premium”, “Favorite Garden”, “House in the Village”, “Vesely Milkman”, “Agusha”, etc. (in total over 1,000 types of dairy products and more than 150 names of juices, fruit nectars, non-carbonated drinks).

Revenue for 2008 (US GAAP) amounted to $2.82 billion ($2.44 billion in 2007), operating profit — $245.1 million ($214.0 million), net profit — $101.7 million ($140.0 million) ).

1992
Wimm-Bill-Dann produced juices in packages for the first time in Russia.

At that time, no one in the country bottled juices. There were practically no imported juices in modern packaging on sale either. In stores I came across, quite rarely, domestic goods in three-liter glass jars with dusty tin lids.

Therefore, such an event was the appearance in Moscow of the first juices in bright multi-colored bags with the “foreign” inscription “Wimm-Bill-Dann”. The juices were bottled on a technological line of the Lianozovsky Dairy Plant, rented specifically for this purpose. It was not rented by foreigners, but by a newly created Russian company consisting of five people. The “foreign” name was chosen because the domestic product at that time did not enjoy the trust of consumers.

1993
Wimm-Bill-Dann began producing yoghurt for the first time in Russia. Now it’s hard to believe, but at that time the domestic consumer didn’t even know the word. With the advent of a new product, a new topic for discussion arose on the pages of newspapers: “yogurt” - is it sweet kefir or warm ice cream?

1994
Wimm-Bill-Dann created the first Russian juice brand - J7. Before this, there were no brands on the Russian food market. On three-liter Soviet-style cans they wrote simply and strictly: “Apple juice”, “Tomato juice”. The name of the first VBD brand came from the English “7 juices.” In fact, at first there were only three J7 juices. But the young company had ambitious plans to increase the range to seven positions.

1997
Wimm-Bill-Dann began producing high-quality traditional dairy products under the Domik v Village brand.

1998
Wimm-Bill-Dann was the first in the world to begin the industrial production of berry fruit drinks according to ancient Russian recipes. The Miracle Berry brand still remains unique, because only these fruit drinks are made from fresh berries.

For the first time in Russia, Wimm-Bill-Dann began producing branded yoghurts under the “Miracle” brand.

Wimm-Bill-Dann has crossed the borders of the Moscow region by acquiring the Siberian Milk plant in Novosibirsk. This marked the beginning of the rapid regional expansion of UBI. Over the course of several years, dairy factories were acquired in Nizhny Novgorod, Vladivostok, Ufa, and the Krasnodar Territory.

1999
Wimm-Bill-Dann launched Bio-Max bio-kefir. The Bio-Max brand is the first specialized brand of fortified dairy products in Russia.

Wimm-Bill-Dann began producing juices and nectars under the “Favorite Garden” brand.

Wimm-Bill-Dann began implementing the Milk Rivers program. The company leases modern milking and refrigeration equipment to farms on favorable terms, providing its dairies with high-quality raw milk.

2000
Wimm-Bill-Dann began producing dairy products under the Jolly Milkman brand.
Wimm-Bill-Dann began acquiring factories abroad - in Ukraine and Central Asia.

2001
Wimm-Bill-Dann was the first in Russia to create a juice and milk drink - Majitel.

Wimm-Bill-Dann registered the first domestic brand of dairy baby food - Agusha.

The management company Wimm-Bill-Dann Food Products OJSC was formed. Its tasks include managing enterprises, monitoring their work, and determining the strategic directions of their activities.

The company received an international certificate of compliance with the British Retailer Consortium (BRC) standard, which is recognized by all retail chains in the EU.

2002
Wimm-Bill-Dann became the first domestic food company to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The shares were listed on the NYSE under the symbol "WBD."

2003
Wimm-Bill-Dann began producing Lambert, the first domestic cheese to successfully compete with European cheeses on the market. "Lamber" is produced at the VBD plant in Rubtsovsk, Altai Territory.

Wimm-Bill-Dann bought the mineral water plant that bottles the famous Essentuki.

2007
Wimm-Bill-Dann was the first in Russia to bring to the market functional dairy products specifically designed to maintain beauty. Fermented milk drinks and Beauty yoghurts help keep nails, skin and hair in excellent condition.

Wimm-Bill-Dann opened an Experimental Baby Food Plant in the Kursk Region and its branch in one of the workshops of the Tsaritsyn Dairy Plant in Moscow. The production of juices for baby food, as well as fruit and meat purees for babies under the Agusha brand has been established.

2008
The Agusha line of baby food products has been supplemented with dry milk porridges and dry milk formulas for infants. From now on, the Agusha brand is represented in all categories of baby food.

Interesting Facts
According to David Yakobashvili, the name of the company comes from “Wimbledon”, however, Sergei Plastinin refutes this version. The animal on the Wimm-Bill-Dann logo is a non-existent animal, “developed” by designers commissioned by the company.

In 2002, before entering the New York Stock Exchange, the company fully disclosed all the information about itself in its prospectus. Then it became known that the largest shareholder of the company, Gavriil Yushvaev, had a conviction for robbery and spent nine years in prison.

At the end of 2006, Wimm-Bill-Dann entered into a contract with the design bureau of one of the most famous Russian clothing designers, Igor Chapurin, to design all its 33 factories in a single corporate style. It is expected that the facades of the workshops will be “clad” in a frame made of modern materials, painted metallic gray and several shades of blue; The project cost will be $2-3 million.

Wimm-Bill-Dann (WBD) is a Russian company, a major manufacturer of soft drinks and dairy products in the 1990s and 2000s. The most famous products are J7 fruit and vegetable juices, a line of dairy products under the Domik v Derevne brand, and Essentuki mineral waters. Absorbed in 2011 by the American corporation PepsiCo and transformed into its division, the main organizational units, production facilities and trademarks were preserved.

The company was established in 1992; her business began with a juice bottling line, leased from the Lianozovsky dairy plant, and a loan of $50 thousand. It was believed that the name of the company came from the word “Wimbledon”, however, Sergei Plastinin refutes this version. The animal in a chef's hat, depicted on the Wimm-Bill-Dann logo, according to the artist Andrei Sechin, who designed it in 1993, did not have a real prototype, but took on a number of features of his beloved Schnauzer.

In 1992, the Wimm-Bill-Dann company produced juices in packages for the first time in Russia. At that time, no one in the country bottled juices. There were practically no imported juices in modern packaging on sale either. In stores I came across, quite rarely, domestic goods in three-liter glass jars with dusty tin lids.

Therefore, such an event was the appearance in Moscow of the first juices in bright multi-colored bags with the “foreign” inscription “Wimm-Bill-Dann”. The juices were bottled on a technological line of the Lianozovsky Dairy Plant, rented specifically for this purpose. It was not rented by foreigners, but by a newly created Russian company consisting of five people. The “foreign” name was chosen because the domestic product at that time did not enjoy the trust of consumers.

1993 - Wimm-Bill-Dann began producing yoghurt for the first time in Russia. Now it’s hard to believe, but at that time the domestic consumer didn’t even know the word. With the advent of a new product, a new topic for discussion arose on the pages of newspapers: “yogurt” - is it sweet kefir or warm ice cream?

In 1994, Wimm-Bill-Dann created the first Russian juice brand - J7. Before this, there were no brands on the Russian food market. On three-liter Soviet-style cans they wrote simply and strictly: “Apple juice”, “Tomato juice”. The name of the first VBD trademark came from the English “7 juices” - “7 juices”. In fact, at first there were only three J7 juices. But the young company had ambitious plans - to increase the range to seven positions.

In 1995-1996, the company bought out the Lianozovsky dairy plant, which became its main production site; the company's headquarters was located in the administrative building of the plant. Subsequently, the company acquired more than thirty Russian beverage bottling and dairy enterprises.

In 1997, Wimm-Bill-Dann began producing high-quality traditional dairy products under the Little House in the Village brand.

1998 - Wimm-Bill-Dann was the first in the world to begin industrial production of berry fruit drinks according to ancient Russian recipes. The Miracle Berry brand still remains unique, because only these fruit drinks are made from fresh berries.

For the first time in Russia, Wimm-Bill-Dann began producing branded yoghurts under the “Miracle” brand.

Wimm-Bill-Dann has crossed the borders of the Moscow region by acquiring the Siberian Milk plant in Novosibirsk. This marked the beginning of the rapid regional expansion of UBI. Over the course of several years, dairy factories were acquired in Nizhny Novgorod, Vladivostok, Ufa, and the Krasnodar Territory.

In 1999, Wimm-Bill-Dann launched the production of bio-kefir Bio-Max. The Bio-Max brand is the first specialized brand of fortified dairy products in Russia.

In the same year, Wimm-Bill-Dann began producing juices and nectars under the “Favorite Garden” brand.

Wimm-Bill-Dann began implementing the Milk Rivers program. The company leases modern milking and refrigeration equipment to farms on favorable terms, providing its dairies with high-quality raw milk.

In 2000, Wimm-Bill-Dann began producing dairy products under the Jolly Milkman brand. In addition, in 2000, Wimm-Bill-Dann began acquiring factories abroad - in Ukraine and Central Asia.

In 2001, Wimm-Bill-Dann was the first in Russia to create a juice and milk drink - Majitel. In the same year, the company registered the first domestic brand of dairy baby food - “Agusha”.

The management company Wimm-Bill-Dann Food Products OJSC was formed. Its tasks include managing enterprises, monitoring their work, and determining the strategic directions of their activities.

The company received an international certificate of compliance with the British Retailer Consortium (BRC) standard, which is recognized by all retail chains in the EU.

In 2002, the company conducted an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming the first Russian food industry company to carry out an IPO. During the placement, the company's valuation was $830 million; the largest buyer of shares was the French Danone. Before entering the stock exchange, the company disclosed all the information about itself as fully as possible in the prospectus, then it became known that the largest shareholder of the company at that time, Gavril Yushvaev, had a conviction for robbery and spent nine years in prison.

2003 - Wimm-Bill-Dann began producing Lambert, the first domestic cheese to successfully compete in the market with European cheeses. "Lamber" was produced at the VBD plant in Rubtsovsk, Altai Territory.

In the same year, the company bought a mineral water plant that bottles the famous Essentuki.

In 2007, the Wimm-Bill-Dann company was the first in Russia to bring to the market functional dairy products specifically designed to maintain beauty - fermented milk drinks and Beauty yoghurts.

Wimm-Bill-Dann opened an Experimental Baby Food Plant in the Kursk Region and its branch in one of the workshops of the Tsaritsyn Dairy Plant in Moscow. The production of juices for baby food, as well as fruit and meat purees for babies under the Agusha brand has been established.

In 2008, the Agusha line of baby food products was supplemented with dry milk porridges and dry milk formulas for infants. From now on, the Agusha brand is represented in all categories of baby food.

At the end of December 2008, Wimm-Bill-Dann was included in the list of systemically important organizations in Russia that received government support during the crisis.

In fact, as of February 2008, 18.36% of VBD shares belonged to the French company Danone (in the summer of 2010, in connection with the merger of Danone with Unimilk, an agreement was reached on the sale of this stake in VBD itself).

At the beginning of November 2010, it became known that the American company PepsiCo had agreed with the shareholders of Wimm-Bill-Dann to purchase the company. During the first stage of the transaction, which ended on February 3, 2011, PepsiCo received 66% of VBD for $3.8 billion (42.37% of shares were purchased from the founders and management of the company, another 23.52% of shares from its subsidiaries), in parallel PepsiCo bought another 11% of WBD shares on the market. The American company still has the right to completely buy out the company. It was assumed that if completed, this transaction would become a record in terms of the volume of foreign investment in the non-resource sector of Russia. As a result, as of February 3, 2011, PepsiCo owned 76.98% of VBD, and as of December 31, 2011 - 98.41%.

The consumer goods sector in Russia is traditionally associated with Western brands. Meanwhile, over the past few years, one can find many examples of how Western companies realized that they were unable to resist local players and, instead of competition, preferred to enter into partnerships with them.

The most striking of such precedents is the purchase of the Russian Wimm-Bill-Dann by the American PepsiCo. In 2011, the American company agreed to pay a more than 35 percent premium for control of a local competitor in hopes of becoming the largest food producer in Russia. The transaction amount then amounted to $5.4 billion.

The history of Wimm-Bill-Dann began almost by accident. In 1992, the future founder of the company, Sergei Plastinin, was already a fairly successful businessman. Starting with small trading operations, he quickly grew to the wholesale level and began selling furniture and household chemicals.

Photo: Ekaterina Chesnokova, RIA Novosti

One evening after work, the entrepreneur went to the store to buy juice for his daughter, but did not find it. Instead, I had to buy a concentrate, which, after diluting with water, also turned out to be tasty. Most people would not attach any significance to this event, but Plastinin saw a promising opportunity here and was so imbued with it that he decided to start a non-core business for himself at that time.

Together with his partner Mikhail Dubinin, the businessman decided to start producing juice on an industrial scale. It is worth noting that this decision was made in 1992, when consumer incomes were rapidly falling and many buyers were saving on literally everything. Despite this, the entrepreneurs were confident that their product would take off and turned to Sberbank for a loan for development. The $50 thousand raised from the bank was used to re-equip one of the workshops of the then idle Lianozovsky dairy plant.

At the same time, an unexpected obstacle was discovered during the preparation process - the regulations in force at that time allowed only milk to be sold in cardboard bags, although juices had been bottled into cardboard abroad for several decades. Entrepreneurs had to urgently seek special permission from the Institute of Canning Industry.

In parallel with the installation of equipment and testing of technology, entrepreneurs had to decide what the new product would be called. The main requirement for the name is that it should not be associated in any way with traditional Russian brands. To attract consumers interested in Western brands, Plastinin and Dubinin decided to name their first juice brand Wimm-Bill-Dann.

You are planning to purchase a new production line. Which one will you choose, provided that they cost the same, and you
Do you need to guarantee demand for your products?

The dairy market remains relatively stable. The cost of production follows the average inflation rate, and production volumes are gradually increasing even during a crisis. The elasticity of demand for milk is high since it is an essential commodity and investing in a milk production line seems less risky. And even if you take a line in , revenue can be predicted with great accuracy, and money will most likely be found to repay the loan.

The confectionery market is highly susceptible to fluctuations in demand depending on the season and market conditions. In 2014-2016, the consumption of confectionery products decreased noticeably, largely due to their rise in price: the rate of price growth was 3 times faster than the economic average. Economic growth and the strengthening of the ruble will help you earn much more on a confectionery production line than on milk, but if a different scenario is realized, you can lose a lot.

The product turned out to be in demand and businessmen began to look for opportunities to expand production. To do this, Sergei Plastinin turned to entrepreneurs Gavriil Yushvaev and David Yakobashvili, already well-known in Moscow at that time. By that time, businessmen had already managed to earn capital by trading used American cars and were looking for an opportunity where to invest the funds they received. As a result, Yakobashvili headed the board of directors of Wimm-Bill-Dann, and Sergei Plastinin took the chair of the chairman of the board.

Together with the new investor, the business quickly took off, and the loan raised to start production was quickly repaid. Just a few months after the launch of the juice bottling line, the first yogurt production in Russia was launched, and at the beginning of 1994 the company introduced the first brand of packaged juices to the market - J7.

Initially, the name J7 was intended as an abbreviation: J7 - from the word juice, and the number 7 meant seven varieties of juice. The launch advertising campaign for the juice was based on the slogan “the first in a series of seven flavors.” Subsequently, the number of flavors increased significantly and amounted to several dozen.

In order to increase its lead over competitors, the company constantly invested in advertising and promotion of its brands. Unlike its competitors, Wimm-Bill-Dann decided to rely not only on traditional commercials, but also on the active integration of its brands into television content. For example, for a long time J7 juice sponsored the “Field of Miracles” program. After the first release of a program advertising juice, the Wimm-Bill-Dann office was literally besieged by wholesale buyers: almost every consumer in the country considered it necessary to try every new product.

Sergei Plastinin, Mikhail Dubinin and other shareholders of the company probably greeted the beginning of 1995 in high spirits. The company, which started as a small production line, has grown into a major player and a leader in its market. It would seem that the option for further development has already been predetermined: it is necessary to maintain the current order of things and continue to invest in advertising to maintain a lead over competitors.

Launching any production, even a small one, is always one of the most interesting cases an entrepreneur can encounter. The large number of difficulties that must be solved when launching are more than compensated by high profitability and a feeling of inner pride when seeing your own finished product.

At the same time, any production is always a “long game”. The period between the launch of a new technology and the sale of the first product can be calculated not only in weeks, but also in months. For example, the founders of Wimm-Bill-Dann received their first batch of juice more than six months after they decided to start this business.

In such conditions, for successful work it is extremely important to find opportunities to attract long-term financing. The optimal format for raising funds for manufacturing companies is. With its help, you can, for example, build a new workshop or modernize equipment. At the same time, the deal is initially structured in such a way that the loan will be repaid from the income that will be received from the launch of a new project. This approach allows you to simultaneously expand production and avoid increasing the debt burden on an already operating business.

However, instead of such a “travelled” movement, the partners decided to look for other opportunities for growth and entered a new market for themselves - raw milk processing. This decision cannot but be called far-sighted: although the Russian juice market “started practically from scratch” and at that time had enormous growth potential, this product category still does not belong to essential products, unlike milk. By that time, Wimm-Bill-Dann was finally able to gain control over the Lianozovsky plant and made it a base for the development of new production.

Wimm-Bill-Dann became the first Russian consumer sector company to conduct an IPO abroad. In 2002, the company sold almost 20% of its shares to foreign investors through the New York Stock Exchange and was valued at $830 million. The largest buyer of shares was the French Danone, which, according to unofficial data, intended to acquire a controlling stake in the Russian company, but then abandoned these plans.

Historically, dairy products have always been in demand among Russians. At the same time, in the nineties their consumption decreased significantly. If in 1990 the average Russian consumed over 380 kg of dairy products per year, then according to Rosstat, by 1995 this figure had dropped to 230 kg.

Until the mid-nineties, milk was considered a “local product”: the market was divided among several thousand small producers, the vast majority of whom believed that this position would remain unshakable. In this situation, the founders of Wimm-Bill-Dann were among the first to understand that the dairy industry would change and follow the same path along which other segments of the consumer market were moving.

Let's say you are a large manufacturer of yogurt, but you do not have your own farms from where you could uninterruptedly receive milk for production.

There are not enough suppliers near the plant, and farmers from other regions cannot provide sufficient quality - often the milk turns sour along the way. How will you solve the problem?


This won't work: you will hold back the growth of your own business with the capacity of the new one. It is much more far-sighted to start investing money in existing farms, where many processes have been built to help them develop. This is exactly what Wimm-Bill-Dann did when it developed the “Milk Rivers” program for suppliers, under which you can get a loan for a new refrigerator or other equipment.


You are acting like the creators of Wimm-Bill-Dann: they were pioneers in the appearance of such programs on the market, when a large enterprise financed small businesses - its suppliers. PepsiCo has expanded this program - now farmers can lease not only refrigerators, but also receive agricultural equipment. This helps improve milk quality, increase supplies and reduce costs.

By 2011, shortly before the takeover of Wimm-Bill-Dann by the American PepsiCo, the Russian player’s brand portfolio included more than 30 brands, including J7, “Lubimy Sad”, “House in the Village”, “Vesely Milkman”, “ Agusha" and others. The company's product range included over 1000 types of dairy products and more than 150 types of juices, fruit nectars, and non-carbonated drinks. The company's revenue by 2011 reached 66 billion rubles. Especially for the deal with PepsiCo, the Russian company was valued at $5.4 billion - this is 108,000 times more than shareholders’ investments in the first production line.