The Flavors of Greece: A Swedish Business Mission in Thessaloniki

A special feature of the event, written in the e-magazine Butiktrend.

53 Exciting Products from 27 Greek Businesses

The task? To test and evaluate their potential for the Swedish market. The location was the city of Thessaloniki, and the online newspaper Butikstrender was there.

Butikstrender had the honor to attend a B2B commercial event titled “The Flavors of Greece.” It took place from November 28th to 30th in Thessaloniki as part of a visit by traders, press, and business correspondents. Antonis Sioulis from Reco Export and Hans Jangstad from Smartfind, in collaboration with the Central Macedonia Region, designed the program.

There are, of course, many reasons why the trip was made to Thessaloniki. Thessaloniki is the second-largest Greek city after Athens and the largest in Central Macedonia. The city is a major industrial and commercial center for Greece and also the most important trade and transport hub in southeastern Europe. For example, the majority of the Balkans’ goods are transported through the port of Thessaloniki. The fact that the city is also a major cultural center and university venue complements the picture.

At this meeting with “The Flavors of Greece,” 27 Greek businesses participated with a total of 53 products. And the 9 Swedish visitors on the trip were, besides Butikstrender, Smartfind, Gustatus, Ockelbo ost, Ekologiska säljbolaget, Bustamante Promotions, Food Collective, Kandyz, and Ica Kringlan Södertälje.

The Central Macedonia Region organized this effort to help its suppliers reach all northern markets in the future, and the interest of local businesses was great. About 100 businesses in Macedonia wanted the opportunity to present themselves, and 27 were selected to showcase some of their best products to us during the days in Thessaloniki.

So, tasting and evaluating feta cheese, goat cheese, graviera cheese, olives, olive oil, yogurt, meatballs, honey, jam, biscuits, cookies, and bars, as well as many other products, were conducted. Then, for Butikstrender and the others, the issue was to evaluate the products based on packaging, taste, price, and mainly their potential for the Swedish market.

The first day ended with a four-course dinner with the visitors and all participating suppliers, totaling 60-70 people.

The second day was dedicated to two selected suppliers. We started with Belas F & Son S.A. Premium Greek Dairy, a fruit farm that has been operating since 1972 and produces several of the most popular and protected Greek authentic cheeses, such as feta, goat and sheep’s milk kasseri, smoked kasseri, and graviera, which, however, is not allowed to be called halloumi on the packaging. Feta must contain at least 70% sheep’s milk and the rest should be goat’s milk – otherwise, the product should be satisfied with being labeled as white cheese.

The second visit was to Oi Goumenisses PC, owned by Dimitra Dartsis and her two daughters, Anna and Maria. Here, tasty foods and sweets inspired by their mother and grandmother are produced.

Among the products are meatballs, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, chutney, tomato sauce, pesto, dressing, jam, almond and hazelnut butter, and pasta. Today, the family business offers many vegan alternatives among its products. Overall, there are more than 150 handmade products in over 20 different categories, where during our visit, we had the opportunity to see the meatballs being produced and packaged by hand.

We also had the opportunity to hear a presentation from the commercial director of their subsidiary BioAgros, one of the largest and leading companies in the organic food sector in Greece.

The afternoon of the second day was dedicated to speed dating where all 27 suppliers had the opportunity to present their company and products to the Swedish visitors for 15 minutes.

Some suppliers have gone further and have already prepared Swedish contacts and delivery routes, so it will be interesting to see which products will enter the Swedish market in the future.

This was the third joint project that “The Flavors of Greece” carried out in collaboration with Reco Export and Smartfind, but the first in Greece. The previous two events took place in Sweden when Antonis Sioulis, Managing Director of RECO EXPORTS, invited other suppliers and products for presentation.

Surely, we will have the chance to see more events with new exciting products in the future!

See more: www.butikstrender.se