History
Two years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, in 1993, the Poroshenko family founded a concern called Ukrprominvest for a mass privatization of former state-owned factories. In 1996 after the acquisition of confectionery factories in Kyiv and Vinnytsia, 'Ukrprominvest Kondyter' was created. Later it bought factories in Mariupol in 1997 and Kremenchuk in 2000. In 1998 the company also privatized a milk factory in Bershad.[12] A confectionery factory in Russian Lipetsk in 2000 became the first factory of the brand to be bought outside of Ukraine.
In 2002 Ukrprominvest Kondyter ordered their new branding from a Marketing Technologies Bureau in Kyiv. They removed the first and last two letters from the Poroshenko last name, shortening it to 'Roshen', and chose 'The sweet quality mark' as a company slogan.[13] Roshen feared that their new name didn't sound Ukrainian enough for its domestic market, so three different brand legends were created: one about a count Roshen who visited Ukraine to provide a new chocolate recipe, one about Roshen being a Swiss quality mark for confectionery, and one about Roshen being an ancient god of sweets. Eventually all three stories were scrapped and none of them were used in promotion.[14]
In 2006 Roshen bought a confectionery factory in Klaipėda, Lithuania. In 2010 Klaipėdas Konditerija was renamed to Roshen Klaipėda Confectionery Factory.
In March 2012, Roshen began co-production with a contract manufacturer in Hungary called "Bonbonetti."[15]
During the election campaign of the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election, Roshen owner Petro Poroshenko pledged to sell all his shares in Roshen if elected president. Although Poroshenko was elected president, by late December 2014, he was unable to find a buyer for the company.[16] Because of this, in January 2016, Poroshenko transferred his share of the corporation to an independent blind trust. The Bank Ruling Trust has a four-year-old proxy to negotiate the sale of assets.
In June 2014 the Bershadmoloko milk factory was transferred from Bershad to a newly-built facility in Vinnytsia, and was renamed the Roshen Vinnytsia Milk Factory.
Roshen closed down its confectionery factory in Mariupol (Ukraine) in 2015 due to the proximity of the Donbas war and an export ban imposed by Russia, which made production there unviable.
In 2017 Roshen quit Russia, shutting down their factory in Lipetsk which has been a center of controversy for working for Russian market despite the Russo-Ukrainian war.
In 2018–2019 Roshen built a biscuit-producing complex in Boryspil, Kyiv Oblast.
In March 2022, the corporation reported the suspension of operations at two factories, located in Kyiv and Boryspil, as well as a reduction in production capacity at its facilities in Vinnytsia and Kremenchuk. Sales in the first months of the invasion declined fivefold, to approximately 3,000 tonnes. As of 2023, Roshen ranked 23rd in Candy Industry’s Top 100 confectionery companies, with reported sales of USD 800 million[17].
In 2024, Russia nationalized the former Lipetsk confectionery factory previously owned by Petro Poroshenko.[18]
On February 7, 2026, Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine. A nighttime attack by Russian drones set fire to warehouses owned by Roshen in the town of Yagotyn, Kyiv region[19]. Later reports indicated that Roshen’s logistics center in Yagotyn, the company’s largest warehouse for finished products, was almost completely destroyed. While eliminating the consequences of the enemy attack and extinguishing a large fire in warehouses in Yagotyn, a sudden collapse of the structure killed 30-year-old firefighter Mykhailo Protsenko. Senior Sergeant Serhiy Khobotnya, 49-year-old commander of the 22nd Fire and Rescue Unit, was also injured[20].
