LAGONI SNAIL
The prolonged recession may be forcing many Greek businesses to take a hiatus or move overseas, but likewise it has led to others becoming more and more innovative. Four years ago, George Papadopoulos from the town of Sidirokastro, in the northern prefecture of Serres, read an article online by chance about a particular Latin American business. “In Chile, they discovered the therapeutic properties of snail mucus,” explains the postman and father of two. “It came about from the workers who collect snails. The skin of their hands remained in excellent condition compared to the rest of the body.”

In Chile, Korea and the US, cosmetology based on this substance is very well developed. “So in September 2012 we started a snail farm on 0.3 hectares of land with the long-term goal of producing cosmetic creams,” adds Papadopoulos, who has turned beauty into a family affair. His children have oriented their studies in this direction – his daughter is studying cosmetology and his son is preparing to study agriculture, while his wife has embraced the old principles of organic farming and grows apples. “We used our grandmother’s ointment recipe as a starting point. We combined the snail slime with many oils, mainly from apricot kernels, thus creating our own patent,”he explains.

In Serres prefecture, there are farms producing snails for human consumption while nationwide there other snail farms catering for the cosmetics industry. Although Papadopoulos’ Lagoni Snail company still has to clear a number of steps before going into full operation, it is moving in the right direction. “We received our license from the National Organization for Medicines six months ago,” says Papadopoulos “We mix our chemicals in Serres.”

TROO FOOD LIBERATION
Danae Tsekoura’s goal of making the therapeutic properties of kale known to a national audience led to the creation of Troo Food Liberation. “My aim is to overthrow the established view that what is healthy is bland,” she says with a laugh. Tsekoura is the mastermind behind kale-based snacks, which she sees as part of the raw food movement and which are sold in selected organic stores and pharmacies that sell superfoods.

“We also export small quantities to England, Luxembourg and Belgium,” adds the 36-year-old holistic nutrition chef, who also runs food hygiene courses. “The idea for kale snacks came from America, where there are many companies producing them,” she explains. “Kale is a famous superfood with high amounts of calcium, iron and vitamin C.” Tsekoura taught herself to make kale chips by dehydrating kale leaves, with impressive results. “They sold very fast, and even young children like them.”

Thus, in December 2014 she joined forces with seven friends to start a collective where all work is divided equally. “We set up a workshop in (the Athens district of) Tavros, which we have equipped with all the necessary equipment,” she says. “The kale comes from the Evia island, the salt from Messolonghi.” For its other products, she sources almonds in Kea, oil in Messinia and oats in the Antonopoulos estate (near Patras).

Though still new, the company has already developed many varieties of the original product. “I have relatives in the US and had offers from restaurants in New York, but I want to try my luck here,” Tsekoura’explains. “I want to support our idea, our team and Greece, where we choose to live, because despite the difficulties we have a high quality of life.”

NATURALS
It was April 2013 when Nikos Koutsoulas took a bold entrepreneurial step and established Naturals, a company based in the Athenian suburb of Ilioupoli. “My friend from Britain told me about a line of healthy flapjack bars hand manufactured in Wales and with no preservatives,” he recounts. “At the same time I had made a change in my lifestyle too. I imported four products and sold them door to door. My next step was to import cereal bars from Poland.”

Until then, the likely customer base for this product could be found in gyms and paying extortionate prices of around 2.50 euros per bar. “We sold ours for 1.40 or 1.30 euros,” explains the young businessman, who is expanding his staff as the business grows. “Today, we import gluten-free products from Slovakia and aloe vera juice from Taiwan, which is our best-selling product.”

Koutsoulis discovers all of these companies by attending commercial food and beverage exhibitions, where he has maintained a strong presence from the start. “I started without a loan with my own capital of 4,000 euros” he says. “I remain cautiously optimistic: markets never die.”

* Originally published in Kathimerini newspaper