27 December 2025, 10:58

Inside Belarus’ only factory making sugared cranberries

Since Soviet times, many remember the distinct small box with a healthy treat inside, containing an explosion of tangy berry flavor and the sweetness of powdered sugar. Today, cranberries in powdered sugar are produced by the Arzhanitsa enterprise in Glubokoye. This is the only facility of its kind in Belarus. It is run by local residents - a father and son. BelTA correspondents met with the company’s current director, Vasily Brilyonok, who spoke about the family business and the secret behind making this dessert.

How did the idea to create this specific type of production come about?

Arzhanitsa was established in 1992. Its founder was my father, Anatoly Apollinaryevich Brilyonok. He is from Glubokoye. The idea to start this production didn’t come to him immediately. At the time, he was manufacturing equipment for the food industry. But my father, like many people back then, had a sweet tooth, as sweets were in short supply. It runs in the family; I also enjoy treating myself to candies. Eventually, he wondered, why not try making cranberries in powdered sugar, which was so well-known in Soviet times. Besides, the Glubokoye area, and Vitebsk Oblast in general, is rich in these berries. The largest amount of wild cranberries comes from the Yelnya bog in Miory District. It took four years to prepare everything needed for production. In 1996, we released our first product. By the way, my mother, Nina Vasilyevna, also works here.

When did you become the director?

I started working here in 2014. But my educational background is not in this field. I studied at Polotsk State University, majoring in Machinery and Apparatus for Chemical Production and Building Materials Enterprises. After my mandatory job placement, I worked for seven years at the Polimir plant of Naftan Oil Refinery. My father often said: “It is time for you to take over the family business”. I finally decided to do it. Of course, there are many more responsibilities now; being the captain of the ship is not easy.

How many people work for you?

According to the staffing table, we have 27 employees, including management. There’s no high turnover; people value their jobs. No one else trains specialists for our specific production, so we train newcomers ourselves. We also hire young spe

How do you make cranberries in powdered sugar?

The equipment is crucial. The coating table is my father’s design. The machine has its unique features. What they are is a secret, a trade secret. The production line and process are patented. The recipe was approved by the relevant authorities. We also don’t use pre-made powdered sugar. We grind the sugar ourselves (mostly from Slutsk Sugar Refinery) in a micro-grinding mill. The result is a mass as light as down. The powdered sugar is applied to the product on the coating table. But that’s not the finished product yet; it’s still a semi-finished product. If you were to pick up a dragée at that moment, the sugar would immediately crumble. That’s why there is a final stage - drying in cabinets. Only after that does the packaging take place. The line allows us to produce 600-800 kg of dragées per shift.

Are there specific requirements for the berries?

We need cranberries that are relatively large, firm, and have a pale white side. All incoming berries pass through two sorting machines we built ourselves. During sorting, moss, foliage, and other impurities are removed, and the clean berries are sent for storage. We also have our own certified radiation control point that checks the berries’ background radiation. This is essential because the bogs where cranberries grow naturally concentrate radiation. For safety, fresh wild cranberries must not exceed 185 Bq/kg of Cesium-137 (Cs-137). Ours never exceeds 10-20 Bq/kg (the natural background level). This year we purchased 38.5 tonnes of cranberries, as well as wild blueberries, lingonberries, and garden raspberries.

Where do you distribute your products?

Primarily within the Belarusian market, and also to Moscow, including the Belarusian pavilion at VDNKh. We have a few small shops in Georgia. Expanding our distribution network is not feasible because the shelf life of the dragées is only 30 days from production. The shelf life is so short because we use only fresh berries. If stored for too long, the cranberries release their juice, lose all their moisture, and dry out. We also regularly present our products at various exhibitions.

Does the company only make cranberries in powdered sugar?

Consumers always ask for something new. Today, we can offer six types of dragées made from wild cranberries with various natural flavor coatings. For example, we have ones with cocoa powder, cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom. The two latest additions are orange and coffee flavors. We also produce Zhuravinka chocolates (a combination of garden large-fruited cranberries and chocolate glaze, sprinkled with hazelnuts, almonds, or peanuts), as well as marmalade, including in a waffle tartlet. Regarding the latter, we are currently implementing a new automatic filling machine that will increase dessert production. Additionally, we make preserves from crushed berries and natural syrups.

The Patsalunki-Padarunki brand under which you release your products has become beloved by many. What is the secret to its success?

I believe it’s the naturalness. None of our products contain cheap, harmful substitutes, colorings, flavorings, or other artificial components. The entire product line has declarations of conformity to the Technical Regulations of the Customs Union (EAEU) for serial production in the Republic of Belarus. This year, our flagship product, the Cranberries in Powdered Sugar dragée, was awarded the Grand Prix at the international specialized wholesale exhibition PRODEXPO 2025 in the tasting competition under the slogan Tradition. Quality. Innovation in the Best Souvenir Product category.