21 million contract: Fabryka Smaku to provide food for military

One of the largest contracts in Odesa Oblast has been signed with the company "Fabryka Smaku", which will be responsible for providing food for patients in medical institutions and military personnel. However, the tender process raised questions due to the lack of competition.

Contract details

The Odesa Regional Base of Special Medical Supply signed a contract with LLC "Fabryka Smaku" for the supply of:

• 37,000 food sets for patients in medical institutions,
• 40,000 food sets for military personnel.

The contract amount was 21 million hryvnias, making it one of the largest in the region in the field of food procurement.

Tender without competitors

No participants other than "Fabryka Smaku" appeared for the announced tender. This raised questions among experts, as such contracts usually attract the attention of several companies at once. The reasons for the absence of competitors remain unclear.

About the company

"Fabryka Smaku" was founded in 2015. The owner of the company is Ihor Levinzon, and the co-founder is Olha Boholiubova. The company already has experience in the food supply sector, however, its participation in such large contracts had not been so prominent previously.

Why is this important?

1. Lack of competition. Conducting a tender with a single participant reduces the transparency of the procedure and may raise doubts about the fairness of the contractor selection.
2. Quality control. It will be necessary to monitor how effectively the company copes with providing food under conditions of significant supply volumes.
3. Procurement transparency. Such situations strengthen demands on local authorities for more thorough supervision of the tender procurement process.

The contract has already entered into force, and the first supplies are expected to begin shortly.