Winnipeg, with side order of success Ukrainian immigrants bring Eastern Europe dish to local markets, join burgeoning community of entrepreneurs By: Gabrielle Piché Posted: 5:24 PM CDT Wednesday, Apr. 3, 2024

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This article was published 03/04/2024 (582 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

First, they fled the Russian invasion and subsequent war in Ukraine, trading their home country for the relative safety of Winnipeg.

Now, they’re determined to make names as entrepreneurs — joining a burgeoning number of Ukrainian-led businesses in the Prairie city.

“(It’s) a completely different field of work, but here, we decided to try something different,” said Anastasiia Malynkina, 21, who, with husband Davyd Tian, 23, have been stocking local food stores with their new brand: Tian’s Korean Salads.

Tian’s heritage is Korean; his family relocated to Ukraine decades ago, after Russia deported its Korean population in 1937. Those migrants couldn’t make traditional kimchi — a dish often requiring cabbage — so they experimented with other vegetables.

Korean side salads, especially ones emphasizing shredded carrot, became popular in Eastern Europe, Malynkina and Tian said.

The couple would eat bowls of the food while in university; Tian was studying psychology and Malynkina was in medical school.

“Probably, we would have to start over everything here,” Malynkina said, talking about she and Tian leaving their eastern Ukraine home in 2022, after Russia invaded.

In Winnipeg — which has a Ukrainian community providing “big support,” Malynkina said — the couple searched for the Korean side salads they’d previously enjoyed.

They couldn’t find what they were looking for, but they could make it (Tian’s grandmother had passed him her recipe). Last summer, the couple brought their carrot salad to a trip to Steep Rock with Ukrainian friends.

It was a hit, Tian relayed.

“We decided, ‘Why not start selling it to other people?’” Malynkina added. “Here is lots of Ukrainian immigrants.”

Manitoba has counted upwards of 26,000 Ukrainian immigrants since March 2022, according to the provincial government.

Tian and Malynkina began researching entrepreneurship online. They found a commercial kitchen, made nutrition labels.

Returning to school isn’t top of mind — it’s expensive, and Canada’s accreditation processes are different, Malynkina noted. Instead, she and Tian work 16-hour days to grow their business.

“Just the two of us, we can make a lot.”

“We decided, ‘Why not start selling it to other people?’ Here is lots of Ukrainian immigrants.”–Anastasiia Malynkina

The couple took their product to Anna Family Store in Winnipeg, hoping to add it to its European stock.

“Everything (looked) very professional,” said Anna Nabrzeska, its Polish owner. “Ukraine is my neighbour. Why not? It’s good to choose always something new for the store.”

Nabrzeska signed on, inking Tian’s Korean Salads’ first deal.

She, too, had noticed an increase in Ukrainian customers and more sales of Ukrainian food, since early 2022. Many new immigrants also choose her Polish offerings.

Tian’s started advertising its food for sale in February.

Tian and Malynkina continued to network and sign deals. Their salads now sell in seven Winnipeg shops, including Young’s Kingsbury, Downtown Family Foods and Honey Bunny Pastry Shop.

The carrot salads are priced around $10.99, while the eggplant version costs about $12.99.

The business-focused couple hopes to scale beyond Manitoba and add more salad types to their roster.

“We really love to be in Canada,” Tian said. “We see our mission (as) to colour people’s daily menu.”

While Tian’s Korean Salads seeks to expand in grocery stores, Taste of Ukraine looks to grow its mall presence.

The fast-food restaurant opened its first location at CF Polo Park in January. It now expects to open a second site at Kildonan Place mid-May.

Famous Wok Inc. owns Taste of Ukraine and said it employs Ukrainian immigrants.

“The response for the one in Polo was great,” said Chieu Thang, project director for Famous Wok and Umi Sushi Express. “It moved faster than we thought.”

Thang believes the new Taste of Ukraine location will create upwards of 10 jobs.

The eatery is also eyeing a St. Vital Centre location and several buildings in Alberta. A St. Vital opening could be a reality this year, “if any space becomes available,” Thang added.

Meanwhile, an eatery named Food Culture Ukrainian Restaurant & Bar is being advertised for the Seasons outlet area in southwest Winnipeg. The Free Press couldn’t reach its owner by print deadline.

New immigrants have created a sushi restaurant, Sushi Point, in the basement of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress provincial council office on Main Street. A majority of the restaurant’s orders are takeout, one UCC employee stated.

Ukrainians also established Sho Coffee & Bar, on William Avenue, last month.

Many Ukrainian immigrants are doing “small things,” like selling crafting, noted Joanne Lewandoski, president of the UCC Manitoba chapter.

However, most aren’t starting businesses — it takes money they might not have, among other things. “It’s not that easy to come to a new country and start a business,” Lewandoski said.

She reiterated Ukrainians have come to Manitoba in “great numbers.”

The Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel program closed March 31.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com