Vitaliy Ivanov – Entrepreneur of the Year 2025 according to the Ukrainian Business Award!

For Vitaliy Ivanov, entrepreneurship is not so much about the product as it is about the ability to make complex, often unpopular, but strategically correct decisions. By launching the Spell chocolate brand in Kyiv in 2016, he entered a field that at that time did not actually exist as a separate industry: a professional gift service with personalized turnkey gifts. Where others saw simply “chocolate sets” and one-time gift projects, he saw an opportunity to build a service with concierge logic — with an individual approach and attention to detail at every stage.

One of Vitaliy’s key decisions was to consciously exit grocery chains — a step that would have seemed risky to many, especially in Ukrainian realities. Instead of holding on to familiar channels, he focused on what matched the DNA of the business: his own website, corporate clients, personalization, and service. This decision yielded concrete results: margins increased 1.4 times, gross profit by 200% in two years, while the business maintained its turnover and reduced its working capital requirement by three times. For an entrepreneur, these are not just numbers, but confirmation that strategic courage and a focus on strengths can be more effective than the “classic” path.

In working with the team, Vitaliy acts not as an owner who makes decisions “from above”, but as a leader who involves people in shaping the future of the business. Spell currently has 72 people, and the entrepreneur consciously builds a culture of participation: regular strategic and facilitation sessions, monthly management team meetings, 1:1 between managers and employees. These are not formal rituals, but tools thanks to which the team together takes responsibility for the result. A prime example is the peak December, when the number of orders increases tenfold: in three years, thanks to joint work, the on-time fulfillment rate of orders has increased from 70% to 98%.

Another dimension of Vitaliy’s entrepreneurial approach is the ability to work with innovations not for the sake of “fashionability”, but for the sake of real added value. Even at the start, he relied on scientific research at the molecular level to create unique flavor combinations that would not just be unusual, but comfortable for the consumer. Later, he took the next step: he brought to Ukraine the first printer that prints photographic-quality images on chocolate, and is already planning to introduce packaging personalization technology from a single unit. All this is a continuation of the same logic: to give the client the opportunity to personalize the gift as deeply as he needs.

In crisis conditions, Vitaliy showed himself as an entrepreneur who thinks not “after”, but “before”. Even before the full-scale invasion, the company had written down scenarios of actions in case of various threats — from the physical safety of people to financial stability. In the first hours and weeks of the war, the team acted according to an already prepared plan: rapid relocation of people from dangerous areas, diversification of warehouses from one point to three, preservation of production in 24 hours, transition to cloud resources. Vitaliy developed these documents not “in the office”, but together with specialists from the military, medical and financial spheres, which shows a very pragmatic but responsible approach to risks.

Also important is how he sees the role of business in society. The entrepreneur systematically integrates social initiatives into Spell’s activities: cooperation with the Children of Heroes Foundation, support for the Charter brigade, a special product — candies in the shape of the Neptune rocket, 20% of the proceeds from the sale of which go to the Luch Design Bureau. These are not “one-time promotions,” but a thoughtful way to contribute to the country within the framework of what the company does best — creating emotional, symbolic gifts.

A separate facet of his entrepreneurial thinking is working with an impact on the market as a whole. At the time of the start of the business, the professional gift service industry as such did not exist: there were event agencies and disparate suppliers. Today, Spell is one of the players that “crystallize” this area, shaping business expectations regarding service, personalization, and quality. Regular participation in 8–10 forums and conferences on the topic of customer experience and HR is not only about finding customers, but also promoting the idea that a gift can be a tool for long-term relationships with the team, not a formality.

And, finally, Vitaliy as an entrepreneur demonstrates consistency: he simultaneously keeps his focus on financial indicators, people, innovation, and security. The growth of marginality and gross profit, the increase in the share in the online and corporate segments, high brand recognition, and customer trust are the result of not one decision, but a whole chain of strategic steps. It is this combination — the ability to change the model without betraying the DNA of the business, to think ahead in crises, to work with innovations and a team — that makes Vitaliy Ivanov a strong contender for the title of “Entrepreneur of the Year 2025” Ukrainian Business Award.