Katre Kõvask Email & Phone Number

Estonia

YOOK is being built from scratch and will be the first plant-based drinks manufacturer in the Baltics, when it launches in the second half of 2023. Being the CEO of a start-up company, which with its innovative technology and products challenges the traditional food industry, requires excellent management, leadership and fast learning skills. Constantly monitoring the big picture of building simultaneously production facility, organization, the brand, sales channels as well as many other important pillars of the company, while attending to the many small details that could cause major problems, is a demanding task that requires constant vigilance. On the other hand, it requires excellent time management skills, and reminds you that good humour is sometimes a way more effective tool than good old Excel.I am excited to build the company and be a part of an organization that will help improve our nutrition ethically and leave a better planet for future generations!

Estonia

Market leader in organic ice creams in Estonia, producing and offering the most Finnish ice cream in Finland, crowfunded and listed in Funderbeam and having sky as the limit for ice cream heaven.

Tallink is the largest catering company on the Baltic Sea, offering food and beverage experiences on 14 vessels and recorded around 240 mEUR turnover in food and beverage in 2019. It was close to 30% of Tallink’s general revenue in 2019. With my team we create the unique restaurants concepts with professionally coordinated menus, we constantly ensure the best price-quality ratio even through turbulent times like today, and thus achieve our loyal customer and repeat customer satisfaction as the main trigger for returning to a cruise is the authentic food experience.I am also responsible for Tallink's international shore trade, launching and running Burger King franchise in the Baltics. The grand opening of the biggest fast-food chain in Baltics coincided with the onset of the pandemic, managing to open 3 restaurants at once, for today having 15 selling points all over the Baltic States and 5 more will be launched in no time. By 2025 we will have 40 restaurants up and running, around 800 employees and around 45-50 mEUR turnover. Having franchise business headquarter in Switzerland, with a lot of planning, reporting and coordinating both with franchisee and internally, gives me great opportunity to be hands-on daily to keep the crucial element of profitability targets under control, as competition in the fast-food sector is ruthless.Building up the business from scratch during the biggest disruption in retail and mobility, not to mention people’s personal lives, proves that with the right team, anything is possible.

I am responsible for Tallink's international shore trade, launching and running Burger King franchise in the Baltics. The grand opening of the biggest fast-food chain in Baltics coincided with the onset of the pandemic, managing to open 3 restaurants at once, for today having 15 selling points all over the Baltic States and 5 more will be launched in no time. By 2025 we will have 40 restaurants up and running, around 800 employees and around 45-50 mEUR turnover. Having franchise business headquarter in Switzerland, with a lot of planning, reporting and coordinating both with franchisee and internally, gives me great opportunity to be hands-on daily to keep the crucial element of profitability targets under control, as competition in the fast-food sector is ruthless.Building up the business from scratch during the biggest disruption in retail and mobility, not to mention people’s personal lives, proves that with the right team, anything is possible.

In 2017, the well-known Estonian brand Tere went through financial turbulence. It was decided to merge it with its main competitor, Farmi, to save the food industry's flagship Tere and to ensure the rapid growth of Farmi's business, becoming Estonia's largest dairy. At the time I was brought into the company to bring the companies together under one roof and restructure the business into an united efficient unit.Despite the challenges, the biggest of which was securing 700 jobs and 4 factories in Estonia at a turnover of 110 million euros, and not to mention the legal problems that were left behind by previous operational misdoings, we were able to save Tere as a dignified brand. Factories and most importantly, people's jobs were saved and merged into one team and one goal. The big changes started from the human level to local and international sales, supported by coordinated marketing. New beginnings were laid for the successful growth of the Estonian Dairy flagship.

Südameapteek is the second largest pharmacy chain in Estonia with a turnover of over 50 million euros and nearly 400 employees. I was invited to lead the company to significantly improve cash flow and profitability and secure a market position.As part of the same healthcare group, I had the opportunity to follow the birth of the private medical company Confido as well as lay out the plan for some innovative insurance projects about which we are starting to hear just now.I learned that in the most competitive pharmacy business, the non-medical segment is a real money-maker under the umbrella of pharmaceuticals, which is closely linked to regulatory pricing rules. Knowing that, the challenge was to push the sales of that particular segment with the help of pharmacists, who do not identify themselves as salesmen. Great attention was paid to digitization to increase the efficiency of the company's operations. This is evidenced by the fact that we managed to create a tool that was successfully sold on the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market.Leaving the company was light-hearted, I left behind a strong management team that took over the management of the company after leaving for the dairy business.

With the management team, we acquired small Estonian ice cream producer Tallinna Külmhoone in 2006, with Amber Trust II Fund. 9 years later it had grown to Premia Foods, an international FMCG company with 50mEUR revenue, active in 6 markets and all together in three business segments (ice cream, frozen goods and red fish). Being the market leader in the ice cream segment in the Baltics, Premia Foods was the market leader and most profitable company in the segment. With a small dedicated team, we conducted a successful IPO in 2010, acquired several companies and created many brands that are still honorable market leaders. Among other lessons, I had the opportunity to quickly learn from pivoting of the company in Russia, in Sweden I learned the secrets of trout farming and took over a reputable family business in Finland.An excellent learning curve, lots of successes and lots of challenges that taught the essence of leadership, working with different cultures and different leadership teams.Premia’s Baltic business was divested in 2015 and after that the control was transferred to the new owner. Today, Premia Foods operates only in the red fish segment under the name PRFoods and is still listed on Nasdaq Tallinn. Premia’s ice cream and frozen goods business is part of Food Union group.

Estonia

After leaving Ösel Foods, we decided together with the management to start a new company for the production and sale of innovative ready meals and soups, with the aim of creating profitable business immediately. The factory was built in a record time of 5 months, and we started production of the newly built brand Maakera 6 months after we came out with an idea.In just 1.5 years, we managed to win 30% of the soup market share, rising to the second largest in the stagnant market area. In 2007, we transferred our business to Orkla to focus entirely on the ambitions we set for Premia. Some of our brands, such as Pai smoothies and recipes such as Christmas sauerkraut or selyanka, are still successful in the market.

Estonia

Ösel Foods needed a balanced product portfolio, by that time the sales were led by Linnuse kali and some light alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Moonshot's plan was to create a juice brand to take over the position of market leader in 2 years. However, it took less time for newborn Aura brand, it became the market leader in 1.5 years, launching its first product only 5 months after the idea was kicked-off.Later, Linnuse kali was sold to Coca Cola, being the first divestment of food brands in the Baltics at that time.Aura was my first experience in creating and launching a pan-Baltic food brand and also gave my first experiences about how to cooperate with various wholesalers in the Baltics.The management soon became the owner of the company, and in 2004 the company was sold to A. Le.Coq, which has kept Aura strong and healthy and further expanded its brand portfolio.

I got my first job during studies in Tartu University, I was to sell the advertising boxes on the Tartu paper map to companies looking for customers. After personal door-to-door sales, I was initially offered a media planner position and as an account director at an advertising agency that was part of the largest pan-Baltic advertising group at the time, managing accounts like Red Bull or L’Oréal. Those accounts meant so much more than today, on those glorious time in the mid of 90s. Working simultaneously with my studies at the university meant the first tough lessons about importance of time management as well as using every opportunity to dig deep into the world of marketing.

Marketing & Foreign Trade

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