Hochland can buy from the Neva Milk Group Brand Sirtaki cheese brand

The Russian structure of the German Hochland cheese manufacturer can redeem the popular brand of Sirtaki brine cheese for 350-400 million rubles from Neva Milk Group of Companies. Now the company produces Fatox cheese, competing in Russian retail with Sirtaki. Buying a strong Russian brand can allow Hochland to reduce pressure on the maternal company, experts say.

Neva Milk Group of Companies can sell Khokhland Russland LLC (part of the German Hochland Holding) brand Sirtaki, Kommersant’s source said in the market. Another interlocutor of Kommersant did not rule out the probability of a transaction. The co -owner of the Neva Milk Group Albert Sufiyarov confirmed the fact of negotiations, clarifying that now the Russian structure of Hochland is the only applicant for Sirtaki. “Khokhland Russland” “Kommersant” was not responded. Investbanker Ilya Shum, estimates the cost of the Sirtaki brand of 350-400 million rubles.

Mr. Sufiyarov specified that after the sale of Sirtaki, the company will concentrate on other brands. Funds will go to restart production in Rylsk (Kursk region), suspended after the Armed Forces invasion. Now in the portfolio of Neva Milk is also the brand of “Thousand Lakes”, “Gold of Europe”, Dolce Granto, “Syerny Satin”, “City of Cheese”.

Sirtaki is the main competitor of Fatox in Russian retail. According to NTech, brands are included in the top three most popular in the category of brine cheese. From April 2024 to March 2025, they formed 8% and 6.5% of cash sales in the category, respectively. The interlocutor of Kommersant in the dairy market calls the potential transaction logical for Hochland: the company gains its competitors around the world. “Sirtaki is a strong local brand, its acquisition of Hochland can be considered from the point of view of reducing pressure on the maternal company while maintaining positions in the Russian market,” the Kommersant source argues.

According to OnlinePatent.ru, the copyright holder of the Sirtaki sign in the class of cheeses is now Nadezhda Sufiyarova. Kulik & Partners Law.economics managing partner Yaroslav Kulik explains that the sale of a brand can be issued through the purchase of the brand itself and the assignment of all licensing agreements on its use. The transaction, according to the expert, will require the consent of the Federal Antimonopoly Service if the trademark costs more than 20% of the balance value of fixed assets and intangible assets of the seller or more than 7 billion rubles.

Vegas Lex Antimonopoly and Regulatory Practice Camilla Istamov adds that the structure controlled by foreigners from unfriendly countries in the acquisition of assets should receive permission from the government commission. The procedure can take three to six months, she adds.

Natural sales of dairy products in retail, according to the Nielsen analytical company, from May 2024 to April 2025 decreased by 0.8%year by the year, solid cheese lost 0.9%, but the demand for soft grew by 7.9%. According to the Soyuzmoloko Association, the production of cheese in Russia in January -April of 2025 amounted to 272 thousand tons, declining by 1.8% of the year by the year. This is due to the increase in reserves and, according to the results of 2025, the category can show an increase, says Artem Belov, CEO of Soyuzmolok. He explains that cheese consumption annually increases by an average of 7% and the potential has not yet been exhausted.

Alexandra Meretsalova, Vladimir Komarov