Woolworths makes major product change in support of Ukraine

Supermarket giant Woolworths has announced it will be renaming popular chicken products in support of Ukraine during its ongoing war with Russia.

The classic chicken Kiev will now be sold as 'chicken Kyiv'.

The "small but meaningful" change comes after social media users urged Aussie supermarkets to follow the lead of Sainsburys, a UK based supermarket that made the move last month.

A Woolworths spokesperson announced on Thursday that the name change will be made immediately online and will gradually roll out to its own brand products and signage in-store in the coming weeks.

The change will be made to Woolworths Deli and its own brand Chicken Kyiv products, and not to other brands sold by Woolworths.

The supermarket giant hopes the simple act will show support and solidarity for Ukrainians living in Australia with the move being "warmly received" by the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations.

'Woolworths gets it'

Chairman of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, Stefan Romaniw, said the change "shows respect for Australian-Ukrainians".

"It's a local action about a global issue," Mr Romaniw said in a statement.

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"Woolworths gets it – Ukraine is different to Russia. Ukraine has its own language, its own culture, its own history. That’s why using the Russian spelling for the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, in ‘Chicken Kiev’ has always offended Ukrainians.

"By changing the name of Chicken Kiev to Chicken Kyiv, a major Australian business has shown it stands with Ukraine in support of democracy, decency and peace.

"We hope other food providers can make the same change Woolworths has made. As Ukraine continues to suffer, we invite all Australian businesses to consider how they can be socially responsible and incorporate their values into their business practices."

Woolworths also announced that for the next four weeks, it will donate $.50 cents from each pack of its own brand Chicken Kyiv it sells.

All money will be donated to the Red Cross’ Ukrainian Appeal with a goal of raising $100,000.

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