Turning a Business Around 180°: The Transformation of TM Rybak
Client
TM RYBAK - USAID
Year
2024 - 2025
Location
Ukraine
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Sometimes transformation isn't just about changing packaging or product lines — it's about changing the very philosophy of the business. That was the path TM Rybak (Miaso-IF LLC) took together with Miks Digital.
This collaboration — one of over 40 strategic marketing projects Miks Digital has led for medium and large businesses in the past two years — became a prime example of how in-depth analytics + a robust strategy + integrated marketing can relaunch a business and uncover new growth opportunities.
Rybak recognized that constant adaptation is not an option but a survival necessity. Their request was clear: “Analyze the market, analyze the customer — and find growth points.”
Before the project began, the business had a well-established operational model — production, logistics, quality control, sales through a proprietary retail chain, and partnerships with large retailers. Yet, as Head of Marketing Anna Berlin noted, that was no longer enough:
“We realized long ago that having a good product is no longer sufficient. We must understand how the market and consumers are evolving. But we lacked the tools to track these changes systematically. Every few years, we would commission studies, analyze internal processes, and make educated guesses — but our decisions either didn’t meet expectations or lagged behind the market's pace. We wanted to fundamentally shift our decision-making logic. That meant identifying future growth points based on holistic analytics of the market, trends, consumers, and internal operations.”
The result wasn’t a superficial product tweak or a dry report — but a full strategic pivot: from ad hoc analysis to a built-in R&D system enabling the company to continuously monitor the market, test consumer hypotheses, manage business data independently, and identify and act on growth opportunities. This became the essence of the case: a full-scale strategic turn “toward the customer.”
“We knew we could apply a framework that consistently drives short-term sales growth while setting the strategic direction for future development,” explains Vitaliy Vardzal, CEO of Miks Digital.
“We conduct marketing research, analyze the market, purchase and interpret retail data, and perform a deep audit of the business. We cross-reference audit insights with market data to find growth intersections — where the company has expertise and readiness, and the market shows unmet demand. That immediately translates into sales growth.”
Yet the Miks Digital team set even more ambitious goals: beyond delivering short-term growth, they aimed to establish a sustainable in-house R&D function. This way, Rybak could independently conduct deep, ongoing analytics, assess market trends, validate strategic directions, and identify new growth points without external consultants.
The second core goal was to evolve the company’s marketing role into a full-fledged R&D structure capable of:
· Regularly scanning the market landscape
· Conducting in-depth consumer research
· Purchasing and interpreting retail analytics
· Auditing internal business processes and overlaying them with external data
· Developing product and communication strategies based on evidence — not intuition
Stage 1: Strategic Session – Aligning Vision & Hypotheses
The project began with a strategy session involving top management to align visions, formulate hypotheses, and assess company resources and constraints.
We identified key development vectors: healthy food, children’s products, and a craft product line. Gaps in the company’s current market analysis system and the need for ongoing analytics became clear.
“Even during the first session, we saw that the company had untapped potential — limited only by the lack of real-time insights. Our task became not just to understand, but to build a permanent internal mechanism to do so,” says Miks Digital strategist Olga Sanina.
Stage 2: External Market Analysis – Macro, Retail, Consumer Data
We gathered and analyzed large-scale data: macroeconomic trends, market reports (e.g., Deloitte 2021+), retail analytics, and behavioral patterns.
Analyzed over 120 SKUs across three main categories: sausages, semi-finished products, and delicacies. Identified growing consumer interest in healthy, ethical, and convenient food — calling for a portfolio pivot.
Key market shifts identified:
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· Rapid rise in demand for healthy semi-finished products
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· Need for simple, child-friendly meat products
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· Shift toward smaller, eco-conscious packaging
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· Local tastes and craft positioning driving trust
We developed seven core recommendations that shaped all strategic actions:
1. Launch a healthy semi-finished product line
2. Create child-focused meat products
3. Adapt packaging formats to smaller households
4. Emphasize local sourcing and storytelling
5. Focus on premium craft sausages and delicacies
6. Introduce convenient meat-based protein snacks
7. Switch to eco-friendly packaging and informative labeling
Stage 3: Internal Business Audit & Growth Implementation
We analyzed internal operations: production, logistics, SKU management, pricing.
This revealed overburdened product categories, missing high-demand SKUs, and quick-win optimization points.
We implemented:
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A healthy semi-finished product line — +18% category growth
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A new children's meat category — small packs, clean label, safety focus
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Craft product line with local positioning
“We launched the new lines — and within one month saw results. In March 2025, new SKUs accounted for 12% of total turnover. We expect +25% YoY growth. We hit a real unmet demand,” says Anna Berlin.
Stage 4: Consumer Research & Tools Handover
The final phase included deep interviews with consumers to validate hypotheses and gather actionable insights:
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Preferences in packaging format
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Expectations regarding ingredients
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Trust triggers for meat brands
“One key insight: small craft packs for kids and singles — with eco look and convenience — became the core of our SKU redesign,” says Olga Sanina.
Crucially, the project didn’t end with implementation. A core outcome was knowledge transfer: Rybak's team gained the tools to analyze, research, and test independently. They received training in analytics, research planning, hypothesis testing, and market monitoring.
“This wasn’t just consulting. We now have the resources to work with any kind of data. In Q1 after the project, we ran two A/B product tests and initiated customer interviews in three regions. Our expansion rate doubled — from 1–2 to 4 locations per quarter, creating 16–20 new jobs each quarter across the business vertical,” — says Anna Berlin.
The Rybak case is not about “product refresh.” It’s about building an intelligent internal function that constantly listens to the market and acts accordingly.
“This is more than a company transformation. It proves even a traditional local brand can think big, scale, and win through innovation and deep market understanding,” — Vitalii Vardzal, CEO, Miks Digital
