Light and textile industries were once among the notable sectors of the Armenian economy. During the Soviet years, a manufacturing base was established in Armenia, and technologies, expertise, and skilled personnel were accumulated, making it possible to produce a wide range of goods. However, after the collapse of the USSR, a significant part of this system ceased to exist.

Today, the industry must effectively be rebuilt, but under completely different conditions — taking into account new technologies, market demands, and modern approaches to manufacturing. How capable is Armenia of regaining its lost positions, and what prospects does local production have? We discussed this with Gor Gumashyan, founder of EVO.

Domestic Production Instead of Imports

According to Gumashyan, EVO was founded in 2023 and specializes in the production of car care and cleaning products. At the same time, the family’s experience in chemical manufacturing spans more than 30 years: since the 1990s, the family has been producing adhesive compounds and today supplies them to dozens of medium-sized and large companies in Armenia.

According to Gumashyan, it is precisely the company’s own production capabilities that allow it to combine high quality with a competitive price. Market research showed that EVO is the only manufacturer of this kind of product in Armenia, while other companies present in the market primarily work with imported goods. “Imports in themselves imply certain logistical problems, which are eliminated in our case,” the entrepreneur notes.

At the same time, this is not about products made according to a ready-made mass-market formula. The formulations used by the company are the brand’s own development.

From Glue to Car Care Products: How EVO Found Its Niche

The production of adhesive compounds remains one of the areas of Gumashyan’s family business, but the company is also developing another line — the production of car care products under the EVO brand. According to the entrepreneur, the idea of focusing specifically on car care chemicals arose long before the brand was created.

“We didn’t simply decide: let’s start some kind of business or some kind of production and choose car care chemicals. That was the original idea from the very beginning,” says Gumashyan.

An interest in cars and market analysis allowed the company to spot an open niche. More than a year was spent researching the market, after which the decision was made to establish local production, offering a quality product while simultaneously breaking the stereotype that Armenian-made goods cannot be competitive.

Over several years, EVO managed to build a recognizable brand and win demand in the market. While at the start the company introduced only eight types of products, today their number exceeds 40.

The scale of sales has also grown significantly. If in the early stages selling 200–300 bottles a day was considered a serious achievement for the company, now selling 2,000–3,000 units per day has become a normal показатель.