For this purpose, the company took an investment loan for 10 years on good conditions. However, Aroma SA has already repaid 5.7 million lei out of this amount, and 23.2 million lei remain to be reimbursed.
“We will keep what Aroma S.A. has – such well-known divine brands as Moldova (20-35 years), Chișinău (10 years), Dacia (25 years), Ambasador (40 years), Aroma (35-50 years), Imperator (60 years),” Vasile Roşca, general director of Barza Albă S.A., told Logos Press. – A rebranding is planned in the future. After Aroma SA joins Barza Albă SA, there will be one company, one operational center. The Aroma brand will be preserved not only in the products. There is a historical monument on the territory of the enterprise in Chisinau – a distillation department built by the trade and industrial partnership “N.L. Shustov and Sons”. It is under state protection, i.e. the history of Aroma, which is 127 years old, should be taken into account. Everything was done to preserve and not to let this company simply disappear into oblivion”
According to him, due to the payment of debts of Aroma JSC, Barza Albă JSC had to slightly rearrange its cash flow, but not to give up its ambitious plans. The company is increasing its sales. In 2024, their growth amounted to more than 10%, thanks to several factors, including the rebranding of products and the exclusive use of the “White Stork” brand. In previous years, six companies had a contract with the Ministry of Agriculture to produce this divin, with the last contract expiring in February 2024. Now the divine “White Stork” has returned to its roots (it was first produced in Balti, in 1978), but in a new design. This has already had an impact on its sales, which have increased by more than 20%.
Currently, the biggest investment project for Barza Albă SA is the merger with Aroma SA. It is to be determined how to utilize more efficiently the available capacities of the two companies. First of all, barrels for maturation and storage of distillates and blends. After the inventory of the barrel stock, it will be possible to plan what investments are needed. One of the areas for investment is automation of processes due to staffing problems.
“This year we will still work on expanding our presence on the market,” continues Vasile Rosca. – In Chisinau, in the Moldtelecom building, we opened a new Barza Albă store, and we have similar cooperation in Balti. In the capital we plan to have at least five stores in each district. I think it is possible to realize this within two years. But our main focus is on export markets. Last year we increased the sales volume in Germany: before we worked with one company, now we work with three. And on the Romanian market, we already have three partners. A second one has appeared in Turkey. We also supply France and Italy, but very small volumes.
In March, at the Moldovan-French business forum in France, Barza Albă JSC signed a strategic partnership agreement with Legardere company, which manages almost 5 thousand stores in airports and train stations in 51 countries.Legardere will start supplying Barza Albă products first to Duty Free stores in three Romanian airports. Thus, sales will be realized already in six cities – Bucharest, Cluj, Timisoara, Iasi, Suceava and Bacau. After that, there is every chance to get to the stores in airports of other countries as well. Within the framework of this project, nine divinas have been identified, which are between nine and 50 years old. Even if the old divines will be sold very infrequently, it is important for the image of both the producer and Moldova.
