The Russian Umka brand owned by Belaya Manufactura production company was recognized the laureate of My Brand No. 1 award in 2023 in the category of Household Chemicals and Cosmetics for Children. The winner was chosen based on the results of a Russia-wide popular vote. Such a success of the brand was ensured by the high quality of safe baby products, the great work of the Belaya Manufactura team and an elaborate promotion strategy.
The Consumers and Experts Were Smitten
In 2023, the Umka brand owned by the Belaya Manufactura company turned 10 years old. Along the way, the brand managed to win the hearts of moms in Russia and the CIS countries, as well as to receive many awards and meet the recognition from experts:
Today, the brand includes more than 150 items of baby products: from diapers and feeding accessories to household chemicals and body, hair, and oral care products. The brand’s products have received a high independent assessment from the Roskachestvo (Quality of Russian products) National Monitoring System.
Another milestone award for the Belaya Manufactura company was the Eventiada Awards 2023, the international award in the domain of communications and the largest industry competition. The anniversary of the Umka brand organized by the company was deemed the best brand-building project. The jury of the Eventiada Awards 2023 festival assessed all aspects: communication with the market, events for partners and consumers, unity of communication policy, feedback from the target audience.
“2023 became an important milestone year in our development; we summed up the results of the first decade for the Umka brand, difficult and meanwhile very interesting time. And at the heart of our promotion has always been shaping a better future for next generations. We are boundlessly grateful to Russian moms who support us even in the most difficult times,” says Tatiana Murkina, Marketing Director of Belaya Manufactura LLC.
Belaya Manufactura pays great attention to the environmental friendliness of its products, since the development of the eco-segment is an investment in the future for our kids. According to the company’s Marketing Director, all Umka goods produced by the company, and beyond that, the entire communication policy of the brand come under scrutiny in the terms of environmental safety. Clinically proven hypoallergenicity of the products is supported by test reports. The company adheres to international standards and does not use components prohibited on the European market when designing the products.
“Our company has really made a breakthrough in the industry of children’s cosmetics and household chemicals, and to some extent we have set a trend for the further development of this industry in Russia. We were founded upon the safety for the health and development of children, and made safe products available to every mom. Today we have clean, waste-free production, biodegradable products that can be used for babies from their first days of life, and affordable prices on store shelves,” emphasized Tatiana Murkina.
Better Quality Than Western Brands Can Offer
2022 and 2023 have become unprecedented years for our country due to external challenges and turbulence. For Belaya Manufactura, as for many Russian manufacturing companies, this has been a trying time and an opportunity to rethink its own potential, assess its strengths and weaknesses, and rebuild its production. And the company successfully met all the challenges. Belaya Manufactura received the official status of Industry Leader based on the reporting of the Federal State Statistics Service (confirmed by a national certificate).
“The events that took place became a powerful stimulus for growth. It turned out that there was a very serious potential for the development of companies. We were able to overcome dependence on foreign markets in terms of raw materials and components. It is worth mentioning that Russian brands have never been inferior to the products of Western brands, and often even surpassed them. Indeed, foreign companies manufactured most goods in Russia, using local resources and technologies. The key distinction of Western companies was more aggressive promotion, but modern digitalization will level this aspect out in favor of the consumer,” the expert argues.
And, as the experience of the Belaya Manufactura company proves, Russian companies not only offer products of excellent quality, but also successfully promote their own products in domestic and foreign markets. Umka brand products are present in 71 regions of Russia and most CIS countries, in large retail chains and children’s supply stores throughout the country, as well as on all marketplaces.
The team is committed to the development of e-commerce and is increasing the brand’s presence in the online environment so that Umka products are available to families in every corner of Russia. Beyond that, companies from China, where they pay a lot of attention to children’s health, have already expressed interest in Umka’s hypoallergenic children’s cosmetics and household chemicals. The company is planning to enter the Celestial Empire market very soon.
Production Growth and Big Plans
Growing sales of our domestic brands, increase in orders for manufacture of products for contract customers, large Russian brands of children’s goods, necessitate to expand production.
Belaya Manufactura is actively investing in the production process, purchasing new equipment, and improving efficiency of business processes. A new plant in Nizhny Novgorod with an area of more than 5 thousand sq.m. produces more than 500 tons of bulk products and 600 tons of liquid detergents monthly. Since 2022, the company has been enhancing industrial capacities as part of the Labor Productivity National Project.
“We have indeed obtained substantial support from the government. Nowadays there is a strong sense that government officials are engaged in the development of Russian production, that they are open-minded and ready for dialogue. We have managed to strengthen the manufacturing sector and achieve good results in providing Russian consumers with essential goods by subsidizing the purchase of equipment with the assistance of the Center for Import and Import Substitution of the Nizhny Novgorod Region,” sums up Tatiana Murkina.
Participation in the Labor Productivity National Project allowed the company to ramp up production by 10 % in the first months without attracting investments. And this is truly relevant, because after sanctions were imposed, the demand for Belaya Manufactura products has risen 3 times, and the popularity of products, including the Umka brand, continues to grow.
