EkoNiva Group, Russia’s largest dairy holding, announces collaboration with Matvey Safonov, one the highest-ranking Russian football players. The Champions’ League’s two-time winner has become the face of the Group’s product brand advertisement campaign. Its slogan is Naturality at the Core.

The choice of Matvey Safonov was prompted by his professional and responsible approach to sport and work. These personality traits align with EkoNiva’s principles, where personal responsibility and high quality are at the heart of the manufacturing process of both raw milk and finished dairy products.

As part of the advertisement campaign, Matvey Safonov addresses the audience with the following phrase: “Naturality that I trust”. These words also feature in the updated design of EkoNiva’s dairy products, where the idea of naturality is the key message that the company endeavors to get across. The promotional materials featuring the sportsman will appear in federal and regional retail chains, e-commerce and digital channels, on billboards, etc. The campaign will continue in the digital environment as well: within its framework, a promotional videoclip will be released that will introduce the audience to the new message that the brand seeks to communicate.

The Group presented a new design for the package in early September of 2026. In it, the main elements of EKONIVA corporate identity are emphasised. A cow’s ear tag with the year of the company’s foundation year has become the central visual element. This exact element reflects the main principle of the Group’s work, i. e. preserving naturality throughout the production stages.

Before the start of the campaign, Matvey Safonov had visited one of the Group’s farms. He met EkoNiva’s president Stefan Dürr, learned the ins and outs of the workflow at the modern dairy unit and the main stages of dairy production.

It is important to me that collaborating with brands is not only professional, but also rooted in shared values. EkoNiva’s philosophy resonates with me: the company makes the quality of its products a priority and takes a responsible approach to business. As a sportsman, I am also used to taking my work seriously and carefully choosing products that become a part of my daily diet. Getting to know the brand has enabled me to learn more about its products and even pick out some favourites from the huge assortment: I particularly enjoyed the Dürr cheese and kefir, and the High Focus dairy drink has been a real discovery for me. The way I see it, rather than just a collaboration, it is a true partnership with the company: we have a common vision and commitment to delivering results. I am sure that there are many exciting joint projects ahead of us.
Matvey Safonov

Just like EkoNiva, Matvey Safonov is a leader in his field of work – open, honest, confident and ambitious at the same time. His interest to production and attention to the products’ origins are completely in line with EkoNiva’s values.
Yekaterina Dürr, Brand director of EkoNiva Group