The Siedlce-based company Real, which founded OLV – the manufacturer of the notorious “alcohol tubes” – received as much as PLN 15 million from the agricultural branch of the National Recovery Plan (KPO), the Niezalezna.pl portal has found. Not long ago, Sejm Speaker Szymon Hołownia and Prime Minister Donald Tusk had both harshly condemned the company. Hołownia had even warned: “Dear sachet-vodka company, what you’re doing is pure evil; I will not let this go, also as a Member of Parliament.”
The “alcohol tubes” scandal erupted when alcoholic beverages with a 15% alcohol content appeared on the Polish market in packaging strikingly similar to popular fruit purées in squeeze pouches intended for children. The colorful packaging, complete with illustrations and a child-friendly form of consumption, could be misleading and, according to many commentators, might have been an attempt to familiarize children and teenagers with alcoholic products. The issue gained widespread attention between September and October 2024, sparking public outrage and criticism from activists and politicians alike.
The product, branded “Voodoo Monkey,” was produced by a company that also had popular children’s fruit purées in its portfolio.
At the time, Tusk stated that such products posed a threat to the safety and health of children. He promised swift and decisive measures to block the sale of alcohol in such packaging. He declared that those who had failed to exercise proper oversight and allowed “alcohol tubes” onto the market would face consequences. The Prime Minister stressed in his statements that “this trick will not work here” and that “there is no room for any negotiations”, adding that such a threat must disappear entirely.
Sejm Speaker Szymon Hołownia also reacted sharply. On social media, he called the production and sale of “alcohol tubes” “pure evil” and repeatedly used the word “shame.” As an MP, he vowed not to let the matter drop and to intervene. Even after the product was withdrawn by the manufacturer, Hołownia insisted the case was not over, inviting the head of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) to the Sejm to explain it.
However, little came from this outrage. As Niezalezna.pl has established, the Siedlce-based company Real, which created the firm behind the scandalous “alcohol tubes,” has received a massive agricultural KPO grant amounting to… PLN 15 million.
The stated purpose of the grant was “the construction of a cold storage warehouse along with necessary road and technical infrastructure, as well as the purchase of specialized machinery and equipment, internal transport means, and IT systems.”
Map of grants under the agricultural KPO here: