Kakheti produces some of the world’s highest quality fruit – not just grapes, but blackberries, peaches, cherries, and nectarines. Americans are enjoying the sweet flavors of Georgia because of local food processors like Gocha Gvinepadze, who partnered with USAID to build Achinebuli LTD, a company that turns fresh fruit into high-value export products. Gocha had a great idea and the work ethic to build a successful company, but he needed investors to help him develop the quality control, food safety, branding, and modern management standards that his company needed. USAID’s agriculture program helped him secure loans to bring cold-press production technology to Telavi. This method ensures his products have the natural taste, nutrients, color, and consistency of Georgian fruit. A cold storage facility helps Gocha store fruit longer so he can produce juice after the harvest season ends. USAID also helped him get certified to export food products to the United States.
In the first year of production, Achinebuli LTD supplied juices to 14 supermarket chains and 300 small stores in Georgia. Even more impressive, he exported Georgian juice to restaurants in New York and Los Angeles as well as Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Iraq. Gocha’s success has benefited the community of Telavi. He buys fruit from local farmers and his company now employs 13 men and nine women as permanent staff. Gocha is one of many successful Georgian business leaders who have partnered with the U.S. government over the past 30 years to build businesses that bring greater prosperity to Georgia.  US Embassy Tbilisi, Georgia