The baked bread circles of Maretti Bruschette in various exquisite flavor combinations have become the favorite crispy snack of Georgian customers. Over 2,000 customers and 100 experts named Maretti Bruschette as their favorite, helping the Italian brand win the Golden Brand award this year.

Carrefour is continuing to expand in Georgia with the Carrefour City franchise, bringing more smaller-sized convenience stores closer to customers throughout the country. 

The residents of Georgian cities, including Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Rustavi, Zugdidi and now already Gori can enjoy quick and convenient access to their favorite restaurant, retail store or grocery shop, thanks to the Finnish- app Wolt. The Finnish tech company has been operating in Georgia since 2018, and is now expanding their business even further in the Georgian Market. 

In the meantime, over 7,000 courier partners continue to deliver from the over 1,500 partner restaurants and 2,000 partner stores across five cities, – all in  30 minutes or less. 

The company also plans to offer a wider assortment of products to its customers by increasing the number of partner merchants in the app. 

In an interview with Golden Brand, General Manager of Wolt in Georgia, Sergi Margania, gave a status on the company’s operations in Georgia.

Q. Let’s start our conversation by talking about the company’s win of the Golden Brand award. In your opinion, what led Wolt to this recognition?

A. Any recognition of the work we do is great and something that we are proud of – and receiving the Golden Brand award is just that. For us this is primarily a reward from our customers, and we are very grateful for their recognition of what we do.

We can safely say that 2022 was a year of significant growth and progress for our company, which of course made an impression on experts and consumers in Georgia. Last year the number of our customers increased, together with the  number of our partner merchants, which also increased significantly, and as a result our product assortment has become much more diverse ranging far beyond take-away delivery and more into retail and groceries. 

We also entered the western city of Zugdidi, and we launched the Wolt+ subscription program that our customers have been waiting for and has been received really well.

Finally,  last year we undertook some important projects not only for us but also 100+ stores and businesses in Georgia. First, I have to mention the launch of Wolt Drive. This is Wolt’s B2B service, through which any online merchant can offer delivery to customers within 30 minutes without being on the Wolt platform. Wolt Drive already helps hundreds of big and small online stores provide quick and convenient delivery which can be a very deciding factor for customers in today’s world. Customers want fast delivery – and now we can help with that whether you are on the Wolt platform or not.  

The second major project we launched last year is the creation of a Wolt service center that provides remote customer service for Wolt’s other European markets. That means that brilliant young people right here in Georgia support customers in other markets such as Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Greece, with Germany soon to be added.

A final new addition in 2022 that I would also highlight is cooperation with Mastercard and the Bank of Georgia, which is important for us as well as for our customers. This cooperation allows us to offer our customers extraordinary incentive promotions throughout the year.

Wolt continues to grow and develop different business lines in our country. Everything is available on Wolt ⁠— take-away, delivery of groceries, personal care, auto services, pharmacy and much more. As the range grows, so does the number of our customers and their orders. We’ve seen this already as customers and orders almost doubled from 2021 to 2022. This is also thanks to the exclusive partnerships we have with popular restaurants and stores  such as KFC, Paul, Ronny’s Pizza, Picasso, Gastronome, MetroMart, Zghapari, Tursa and many more which you can only get delivered through Wolt. 

Q. How many orders are delivered in a day and at what time of day does Wolt get the most orders?

A. Thousands of orders are delivered every day, and this number is constantly increasing. Though previously it was mostly restaurant orders, today they order everything – pharmacy, groceries, auto parts, toys, and much more. 

Now that you can order goods, we see high demand practically throughout the whole day. But the number of orders increases dramatically during lunch time and weekends and holidays are also quite busy, because Wolt always has promotions.

Q. Wolt faced a difficult challenge this year when hundreds of courier partners went on strike to demand a pay increase. Tell us about the company’s attitude and response to this request and, in general, what is the company’s policy towards its couriers?

A. First, let me clarify that this was a protest by a small group of partner couriers. We have more than 7000 couriers in Georgia, so while we listen to the criticism from this group, we also have to consider the feedback we get from the thousands of other couriers who have different views than this group.  We’ve always expressed our willingness to engage in constructive talks if any of our partners are dissatisfied with the partnership, and our approach remains unchanged.

Q. The Georgia office was one of the first among Wolt’s  25 country offices to add delivery service from supermarkets. The Georgia office also occupies a top spot in the international office roster. 

A. As I mentioned above, Wolt created a service center for other countries in Georgia. The company made this decision because our support service is one of the best and fastest in the world. Many of the young people who work with us are fluent in several foreign languages, among other skills, so the company saw a great potential for development in this direction. We can safely say that Georgia has become a talent pool for Wolt – and we’re quite proud of that.

After strengthening its position as Georgia’s leading outbound tour operator, Voyager 365 is now entering the inbound tourism market.

Starting in September 2023, those seeking an unforgettable experience in Georgia will enjoy a complete range of holiday and travel services created by the experienced and professional team of Voyager 365.

CEO of Voyager 365 Gvantsa Gotsiridze told us that the initial plan was to offer both inbound and outbound services to the travelers, but “first I wanted to make the company a leader in outbound tourism”.

“I believe that at the moment Voyager 365 is the market leader in outbound tourism and that’s why we started to work on the inbound tourism project. Also, interest in Georgia has been increasing in recent years. After being a host country of the ITB Berlin tourism exhibition, interest in Georgia will increase. So I believe travel within Georgia will be in demand,” Gotsiridze said, adding that “the European tourist market is the most interesting to us.”

During three years of operations Voyager 365 has received two Golden Brand awards, the second one for successful activities in 2022.

Q. Please summarize 2022.
A. It was quite a successful year for Voyager 365. Georgia’s tourism sector has fully recovered from the pandemic. Demand in 2022 increased by 100% compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

In spite of very increased demand, we think we maintained a high quality service. The number of employees doubled and an increase is projected for this year as well.

Also, marketing activities carried out in 2022 played an important role in winning the favor of experts and customers. The second Golden Brand award is a double responsibility for us, and it should be emphasized that the victory in 2021 further strengthened our positions in the corporate segment.

Q. What are the latest offers from Voyager 365?
A. Voyager 365 has added a new tourist package that includes sports and entertainment activities, such as concerts by famous artists in different locations, and fully planned tours of sporting events.

Our company was the first in Georgia to plan a group tour for fans of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, winger of Italian club Napoli at the Napoli-Roma football match. The group consisted of 45 people.

We had an Amsterdam tour which included a Beyonce concert. We will try to offer all current events to Georgian travelers.

We think that Voyager 365 is distinguished by its well-defined, niche destinations.

Q. Which destinations were most in-demand last year among Georgian travelers?
A. Paris is the top destination, followed by Portugal and Indonesia.

Q. What were Voyager’s CSR activities in 2022?
A. The events in Ukraine were quite sensitive for us, so we were involved in the subsidy process.

We also helped several families living in Georgia’s border villages.

Voyager 365 became the main sponsor of the football club Sfera.

In 2022 we mainly responded to the demands of society and spontaneously funded individuals in need.

Q. Does Voyager 365 participate in international tourism exhibitions?
A. Last year the company participated in the tourist exhibition BIT MILANO in Milan, IFTM Top Resa in Paris and Travel Turkey izmir 2022 in Izmir. In 2023, we have already taken part in the aforementioned exhibition in Milan and in the tourist exhibition of ITB Berlin, where Georgia was the host country.

The company’s participation in various international exhibitions allows us to offer Georgian consumers a variety of interesting tourist products and to sign agreements with new partners who will provide reliable, high-quality services to Georgian vacationers.

Q. What is the competitive advantage of Voyager 365?
A. There is high competition on the market, and our advantage is high quality of service, and of course new and exciting destinations.

The main strength of our company is a high sense of responsibility and credibility, reflected in the fact that the company takes full responsibility for services provided from the beginning of the trip to its end. Tour managers are in contact with our tourists 24 hours a day and provide all additional services remotely upon request.

All of the above, the love of the work among our team, and commitment to the idea of creating a positive impression in the Georgian market, constitute the advantage of Voyager 365. I would also like to thank our customers for their trust and loyalty!

Vitaferol, a premium quality, 100% pure and highly bioavailable vitamin D supplement available on the Georgian market since 2016, has won the Golden Brand award to become the top such supplement in the country. 

A believer in timeless beauty, Nino Didia, doctor and cosmetologist with 20 years of experience in Ukraine, has established a new aesthetic center – Timeless by Nino Didia – in Tbilisi and is already raising standards in the field.

The one-year operation of the aesthetic center did not go unnoticed by local consumers, which recognized Timeless as the most dynamically developing brand of 2022 at the Golden Brand awards.

Nino Didia sat down with Golden Brand to share the dizzying journey of the company towards success and introduced her company to our readers.

Q. From Ukraine to Georgia ⁠— please tell us why you decided to establish a company in our country, what was your goal?

A. ‘Timeless’ is my dream come true. My goal was to introduce patients in Georgia to international practices in face and body care, to introduce the best cosmetology methods and innovative approaches.

Timeless by Nino Didia was established in September 2022 with the goal of introducing new standards in aesthetic medicine in our country. Since opening day, we have been focused on creating the most reliable and comfortable environment for patients ⁠— people who motivate us and encourage us to maintain our quality and offer even more innovations in the future.

It is so exciting to see that in just one year we have already achieved so much success, crowned by the Golden Brand award, which is our country’s most prestigious and influential business award.

We will continue to bring innovative approaches to the Georgian market. Very soon we will purchase a new, multifunctional device ⁠— a unique technology that is used to work on fine and thin wrinkles, to remove vascular pathologies, acne, unwanted pigmentation, scars, enlarged pores, and treatment of excessive sweating.

Q. Speaking of future plans, do you plan to expand?

A. So far we have only one branch, which is located on 12 Pavle Aslanidis street in Tbilisi, although we do not rule out expansion in the near future, both in Tbilisi and in other cities.

Q. What is the standard that you want to bring to Georgian aesthetic medicine with your clinic?

A. For us, it is a priority to help patients look perfect and maintain their individuality.

We help our patients “stop time” and become more self-confident. Our clinic uses only modern approaches and follows modern protocols. In order to improve the skills of our doctors, we undergo various personal training. All this gives us the advantage in establishing high quality service on the Georgian aesthetic medicine market.

Q. Tell us about these treatments that can “stop time” and make the beauty of your patients timeless?

A. We have everything to help our customers to take care of themselves and achieve the best results at our clinic ⁠— innovative, invasive and non-invasive procedures with modern approaches.

We offer the latest and safest methods of treatment.

Diagnosis of facial skin and hair, laser epilation; innovative body care equipment; a team of highly qualified doctors focused on quality assurance; and a pleasant environment suitable for the beauty industry. The procedures are carried out with the highest quality products with CE and FDA certificates.

The latest procedure, which we introduced in March, is spa manicure and pedicure. We saw there was demand from patients for this procedure and decided to go for it.

The procedure includes peeling, softening of the skin, and saturation of the skin with vitamins, both skin and nails. After the procedure, the skin becomes soft and velvety, while the nails become thicker.

I can also mention dysport injections, one of the most in-demand procedures at our clinic. Dysport temporarily treats moderate to severe frown lines between the eyebrows by reducing specific muscle activity.

Nowadays it is possible to partially or completely solve “beauty problems” with the right approaches, not surgically. The first thing is to consult a doctor and collect anamnesis. Our customers have no age limit. We help them take proper care of their skin, choose the right care line and keep their youth.

From one small hospital laboratory to a leading diagnostic service company, now with the most prestigious local business award, the Golden Brand  —  this is the story of Swedish laboratory network Synevo, which celebrated ten years of an “outstanding journey with spectacular performance”, according to Ariel Gatushkin, General Manager of Synevo Georgia.

Suprastin, used for treating allergic reactions, and produced and distributed in Georgia by Hungarian company Egis Pharmaceuticals PLC, has won the Georgian business award Golden Brand.

Strong Wash, a Georgian company involved in the production and distribution of auto chemicals, installation of car washes, and sale of high-pressure washing machines, will expand with two new branches in the cities of Kutaisi and Batumi.

To meet the brand’s growing demand, Georgian sunflower seed company Solari is expanding its product portfolio with packaged almonds and peanuts for snacking for the local and export markets.