Back in 2009, Yiannis Kaminogiannakis from Bioierapetra, along with his business partner, felt the need to bring better quality produce to the Greek market in the form of organic vegetables. "We are both agronomists and felt that we had the knowledge to successfully grow organic vegetables for the Greek market. We care about the environment and had a sincere interest in quality nutrition. When we started, consumers here weren't as familiar with organics, but we have been happy to see that demand continue to grow and that a lot of Greek consumers are willing to pay just a little more for quality vegetables," Yiannis shares.
The company is located in Ierapetra which is the southernmost city of Europe. The owners of Bioierapetra say that it has ideal weather conditions for growing, with fertile soil and quality water coming from the nearby mountain ranges or from specially landscaped areas in each greenhouse for the collection of rain water.
"We produce organic greenhouse tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers and eggplants, with tomatoes and cucumbers making up the largest part of our production. We have noticed the demand for organic, also here in Greece, increasing over the last 10 years. The company has continued to expand its production as demand increases, but we are now interested in finding new markets so we can expand even more,"confirms Yiannis.
Approximately 90% of what Bioierapetra produces is for the domestic market, with the rest being exported to countries such as Bulgaria, Serbia and Cyprus. Of course, being organic, no pesticides are used for production, and instead they use beneficial insects and natural plant extracts to ward off pests.
"Many consumers are starting to prefer organics here, especially younger families and young professionals who are interested in improving their health and food is a big part of that. However, there is still work to do in terms of educating the traditional Greek consumer," concluded Yiannis.
For more information:
Yiannis Kaminogiannakis
Bioierapetra
Tel: +30 6937 477306
Fax: +30 2842031506
Email: info@bioierapetra.gr