It all started in 1996 in the city of Tashir, Lori region of Armenia. “Alashkert Group” LLC was founded here as a family enterprise by the Ruben Harutyunyan’s family.The company, specializing in the production of cheeses, today produces about fifteen different types of cheese: Lori, Alashkert, Chanakh, Chanakh in brine, Chechil, Suluguni, Khasturi, Lalvar, Dutch, Maasdam, Gouda with spices, etc.
Following the Visionest Export Training program, there is a desire to expand both the volume of production and the scope of export markets.
About 80% of Alashkert’s total trade turnover is sold in Armenia.
In 2025, they joined Visionest’s “Export Training” program. Before joining the program, the company was already regularly exporting to the Russian Federation and the United States.
“Since 2001, we have been exporting our products to the Russian Federation and the United States of America. I would like to add that the company has had a food safety HACCP system in place since 2012, and has also been certified with ISO 22000-2018,” Karen emphasizes.
It was time to discover new markets. During the program, the Alashkert team created and developed a new export business plan. A new export market was also selected – the United Arab Emirates.
New opportunities are also being created to organize exports to the United Arab Emirates.
“Alashkert plans to export to the United Arab Emirates. At the same time, the target markets remain Russia and the USA, and there is also a desire to export to European countries,” says Karen Mkrtchyan.
Today, the Alashkert team is already implementing the export business plan created and developed during the program.
“The program has increased our confidence in the export process. New knowledge has been gained in organizing the export process correctly,” says Karen.
The upcoming plans include the release of new products. They plan to add 3 more cheese varieties to the production in 2026. In parallel, the company aims to expand export volumes, increase product quality and safety.
The program was implemented by the Visionest Institute with funding from the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV).