From home cook to entrepreneurship – how a young woman in Moldova developed her business idea with fruit pistil

In Moldova, we are lucky to be able to enjoy fruits and vegetables in any season, especially if we can savor them either in the form of dried fruits, canned or paste. Combined according to taste and flavor, Moldovan fruits and vegetables can make extremely delicious snacks, and even more importantly – healthy ones. Having come upon this idea, Valentina Buhna, a young entrepreneur from (the region), in her attempt to find healthy alternatives to commercial snacks for her family, discovered the fruit pistil. And over the following 4 years of experience, with ups and downs, Valentina transformed her idea into a successful local brand called Flavorya. 

In 2019, being on maternity leave, Valentina was looking for an enjoyable and useful activity for her family. She accidentally discovered the fruit pistil. She liked it so much that ended up purchasing a fruit dehydrator and started creating natural snacks for her family. Since then and until today, during 4 years of experiments and investments, Flavorya has become a local brand, loved and known for its delicious and nutritious products with over 25 tastes. 

“The idea of the brand Flavorya appeared out of the need for healthy and nutritious food for my family, but over time it came to life and expanded. Four years ago, visiting a friend, I discovered the fruit pistil, a kind of marmalade. I was impressed by the taste and flavour, and when I found out it was a fruit-only product, I thought it was a great snack option for my family.”, says Valentina, founder of Flavorya

She purchased a fruit dryer and experimented with over 25 fruit and vegetable blends from her garden. Because Valentina had made enough pistil for one season, a great option was to sell the remaining pistil. And so, she took part in the local fair “IarmarEco” and sold 18 different types of pistil. Buyers were delighted with such goodies, and even asked surprised “are these snacks made in Moldova?”. It was in that moment that Valentina realized the great opportunity to promote widely, among local consumers, healthy products made from Mother Nature's ingredients, as well as the idea of growing her business. 

“Once dried, the pistil is stored and can be consumed for a whole season without altering itself. If the production steps are obeyed and if the raw material from which the pistil was made was fresh and qualitative, then the formed pistil can be maintained for a whole year, without deterioration, which makes it an even more valuable product for the family pantry. And it's one more reason to resort to healthy and natural alternatives when we crave for something sweet.”, added Valentina.

After the launch, Valentina wanted to improve the visual identity of the brand and to give the packaging an attractive and pleasant appearance. She benefited from the recommendations of Katalyst Association specialists, who, with the support of OPTIM Project, held several information sessions about promotion and branding for small local producers. 

“What impressed me about the Katalyst model was the support provided to small businesses in the regions, so that local farmers can easily and profitably market their own products. Thanks to the support of the Katalyst Association, I managed to make the Flavorya brand known on the market, to create an attractive, representative packaging, but also to launch a new product – a pistil for children. Although initially Flavorya products were only intended for adults, Katalyst inspired me to create a product for a specific category of consumers and proved to be a success – the children's pistil is one of the most demanded products in Flavorya's palette and sells 3 times more than regular boxes.”

From the large pistil strips, she carefully cuts out the exact shapes to fit in the boxes. Like the pasta dough, the pistil left at the end was thrown into the bin. Now, the strips left with atypical shapes are carefully packed in boxes with pistil for kids. This strategy decreased the losses of raw material but also brought additional profit to the business. 

“If someone had told me four years ago that in 2023, I would have a production hall, a fruit dryer the size of a closet, equipment and machinery, but also hundreds of buyers interested in my products – I would have said it's a made-up story. But thanks to the effort, dedication, and passion to grow an idea, but also thanks to the Katalyst development partners, through Optim OPTIM, the dream has become an incredible reality.” 

In the coming period, Valentina plans to direct the efforts toward marketing and promotion of the Flavorya brand. And also, to acquire new high-performance machines that would allow the production of more pistils and proper storage of the product. 

Flavorya's pistils and other snacks can be found on the Flavorya official page, where consumers can contact Valentina directly and order the desired pistil.