VARUS

On October 14, the Lake Plaza shopping mall in Kyiv hosted the opening of the "People for People" photo project by the VARUS supermarket chain. This project highlights the power of kind words, genuine emotions, and humanity that can change the world around us.

The idea originated from an internal campaign called "Your Strength is in People!", dedicated to the VARUS team. Over time, the initiative evolved into a larger social project — a token of gratitude from person to person.

The series of black-and-white photographs features real VARUS employees — people we are used to seeing in their everyday roles as cashiers, shop assistants, colleagues, or customers. Each frame captures a moment of internal transformation: "before" and "after" the heroes heard words of support, gratitude, or simply felt that they were noticed.

"We wanted to capture the moment when one person truly sees another. When you look a cashier in the eyes — not as a customer looking at an employee, but simply as one human being looking at another — something changes at that exact moment. The distance disappears. A connection, empathy, and humanity emerge. 'People for People' is precisely about this. It's about the ability to notice, to hear, and to look closely. And this is, in fact, the simplest form of kindness," noted Anna Luhanska, Marketing Director at VARUS.

During the opening event, guests viewed the portrait series, spoke with the artist behind the shoot, and took part in a creative improvisation called "The Art of Gratitude." The atmosphere of the event became a true extension of the photo project's core idea — to be people for people: genuine, attentive, and open.

The photography exhibition will run for two weeks — until the end of October — at the Lake Plaza shopping mall. Everyone is welcome to visit the exhibition, see the photographs in person, and feel how much power is hidden within ordinary words and sincere emotions.

Background

VARUS is a national supermarket chain represented in the Ukrainian grocery retail market by the "Omega" company. The chain's first store opened in 2003 in Dnipro. Currently, it operates 116 supermarkets across various cities in Ukraine, as well as a DarkStore in Kyiv. The VARUS network operates in several formats: classic supermarkets, To Go convenience stores, and the VARUS.UA smart shopping service.