Honey Badger. Where did the business idea come from?

Honey Badger is a family business which was established in 2015. The goal was to gather a collection of ancient recipes from all regions of Ukraine. Yulia Kalenskaya and Artem Skubenko traveled a lot and visited many producers known throughout the world crafts, that have grown from small family businesses in the back yard into prosperous companies. With the love for Ukraine and the desire to recreate traditional Ukrainian drinks, the idea of setting up their own production in Ukraine was born. Yulia and Artem started with family recipes, that use to make drinks.

Choosing the best from the Ukrainian heritage

The owners of the Honey Badger brand, Yulia Kalenskaya and Artem Skubenko, are the representatives of the millennial’s generation, who, as we know, thus choosing the best. So, when a couple of young Ukrainians founded their own enterprise to produce the traditional drinks according to the revived recipes, it is reasonable that the credo of their company was: «To collect and preserve the best from the heritage of Ukrainian cities and villages». A simple idea turned out to be a brilliant one. The best local ingredients multiplied with the best local recipes.

This is what Yulia and Artem are saying about themselves: “We strive to revive the culture of traditional Ukrainian drinks, to preserve the legacy of Ukrainian cities and towns. After all, Ukrainians have something to be proud of!”

Map of Ukraine by Honey Badger

Honey Badger has no location of its own for enogastronomic tourists, but the concept and philosophy of the brand result in each of the brand’s bottle of nastoyanka and nalyvka having the Ukrainian flavor. Based on locations of their partners’ yards and gardens, supplying the high-quality raw materials, the trademark owners have developed their own map of the country. So, today, the bottles of beverages by Honey Badger, including COSSACK`S OAK and BEE IN FUSED NASTOYANKA, BLACK CURRANT or CHERRY INFUSED NALYVKA, U.Gin (Ukrainian Gin) are the best souvenirs that one may bring from Ukraine.

Today, restaurateurs are paying specific attention to Honey Badger drinks, including due to their universal gastronomy. The nastoyanky are especially attractive for the bartenders who are interested in making trendy cocktails based on old drinks created from local ingredients. The founders have big and ambitious plans to expand the collection of recipes by filling out their own map of Ukraine by Honey Badger, as well as to enter the export markets.