If you have ever tried food from Belarus, you will probably want to do it again and again. Made using natural ingredients and traditional recipes, Belarusian products are well-known in the neighboring countries. And, apparently, mimicked by local producers for better sales!
When travelling to Russia or Ukraine, Belarusians are often asked to bring along some bread, chocolate or cheese by their friends and relatives.
Belarusian food is also sold in Russia and Ukraine: local shops display signs and posters saying “Made in Belarus” to attract customers.
A shop selling Belarusian products in one of the residential districts of Kiev
However, the mark “Belarusian” doesn’t always mean that products actually arrived from Belarus. Belarusian products are so good that Ukrainian food brands mimic them and pass off their produce as “Made in Belarus”!
A curious observation was made by Ukrainian journalists.
“There are many shops with a sign “Belarusian products” in the streets of Kiev. Because Belarusian products are considered to be of higher quality compared with Russian and Ukrainian ones, there is a huge demand in them,” they wrote.
Shops selling Belarusian products are quite popular in Russia and Ukraine
Moreover, the price of Belarusian milk, cheese, sour cream, condensed milk and sausages is usually higher than the average in the market.
But do people in Russia and the Ukraine really buy the goods from Belarus? Well, not always. Very often it is a skillful trick oriented at customers who rarely read small text on the back of the pack!
For example, this ice-cream packed in paper with traditional Belarusian pattern, white-red-green design and the slogan “The best tastes of Belarus” is made in Ukrainian Kirovograd.
A pack of ice-cream called “Ice-cream from Belarus” is actually produced in Ukrainian Kirovograd
A pack of mayonnaise “Natsyyanalnyya belaruskіya tradytsyі” (“National Belarusian traditions”) is made in Zaporozhye region of Ukraine.
This mayo doesn’t come from Belarus, although big letters on the pack claim the opposite
Fruit dumplings “White Birch”, an image directly associated with Belarus, comes from Dnipropetrovsk in central Ukraine.
Fruit dumplings evoke association with Belarus but are made in Ukraine
Sellers honestly admit that all their goods are of the Ukrainian origin. But once customers are in, they’re in!
Source: relax.ua
What’s your favourite Belarusian product? Tell us in the comments!