Moldovan pies conquer EU states
Victor Nistorică owns a bakery in the Republic of Moldova that exports its products to Romania, Germany, France, and Ireland. Consequently, Moldovan pies, Easter cakes, and roulades are now available in various stores across the EU. The manufacturer states that he has invested many years of effort to ensure that the quality of his bakery's products meets the standards promised to his European partners.
Victor Nistorică stated on June 20 during the "Zi de zi" program on Radio Moldova that among the biggest challenges he faced were the logistics required to export frozen products and the necessary production capacity.
"The journey was not easy, even though we had vision and ambition. It took us two to three years to develop our physical production capacity and obtain quality certifications," said Victor Nistorică.
He explained that initially, it was difficult to find a logistics operator capable of exporting frozen products while managing the large volumes needed each week.
Another significant challenge arose when he attempted to export cheese pies to the EU. The Republic of Moldova was not recognized by the European Union as an exporter of animal products, prompting the bakery owner to produce the pies in Iași, Romania, which is within the EU.
Romania was the first country where the products were easily accepted. There was no need to explain what the pies were, and the absence of a language barrier helped since the same packaging was used in both Moldova and Romania.
He compared this with his experiences in France, Germany, and Ireland, where packaging had to be translated and adjustments to the packaging structure made.
According to the entrepreneur, Romania appreciates food products from the Republic of Moldova. In contrast, in countries such as Germany, Austria, France, and Ireland, pies are primarily available in stores frequented by the Moldovan diaspora.
Starting in 2025, the company began exporting additional products to the European market upon the suggestion of international partners.
“We started with Easter products. However, we intend to expand our product range,” added Victor Nistorică.
The company also plans to export fried and frozen pies.
The manufacturer advises other businesses looking to enter foreign markets to carefully study consumer preferences, ensure high product quality (not necessarily at a low price), and target a specific niche.
"We are a small country and cannot compete in volume with manufacturers from China, Poland, and Ukraine. Therefore, we must choose niches that we can uniquely access," the entrepreneur said.
He said that his business grows by 30-40% each year, with a production capacity of about three to four tons of products per day. Over a third of the production volume is exported.
