Still in their twenties, John and George Bekiaris have committed strongly to the vocation that's been in their family for three generations. From the valley in which the legendary Spartans made their city, the brothers grow citrus they hope will be known throughout Europe for its quality.
“For three generations and more than 100 years, our family grew citrus,” said George Bekiaris, managing director of Sparta Valley Fruits. “But our father is a dentist, if you can believe it.” Though the path to owning and managing a citrus company wasn't obvious, once the brothers decided they wanted to sell the fruit their family had grown for generations, they went at it with passion. Even their younger sister, Julie, works with the pair.
“We're a new company full of young people, and we have a lot of passion for this,” said George. “With the climate and the temperature here, we think the future of Greece is in the export of fresh produce.” Sparta Valley Fruits currently sources its citrus from about 50 growers, and their annual production hovers around 5,000 tons. The brothers sell domestically and export to most of Europe, and they're exploring sending fruit to Scandinavia next year.
John is the agriculturist, but both brothers take quality control seriously. Both are very hands-on, and early on they knew they had to build their own packing house in order to have complete control of the quality. They knew that in a competitive market, quality would be their ticket in.
“We never cut when it rains or when there's lots of humidity, because it's bad for the fruit, and we constantly check the brix to see it's at the right level,” said John. “We've invested in new technology for our packing house, which will be controlled electronically. We also won't sell any fruit from our cartons that's not at the best quality. Our brand is something valuable, so we want to protect it.” Though they could emphasize their family tradition in the company's branding, the brothers know that excellent quality is essential to compete in a market, but it's not enough on its own.
“We sell a product that brings up history, and people buy things that have history because they will think about eating an orange that was grown where the famous Leonidas and 300 lived,” said George. “So we went with the strong brand name. When you go to market and everyone has good quality, people buy from the brand name that stands out.”
For more information:
Sparta Valley Fruits
George Bekiaris
tel 0030-6944-179949
email spartavalleyfruits@gmail.com
web http://spartavalleyfruits.gr/index-en.html
Author: Yzza Ibrahim / Carlos Nunez
“For three generations and more than 100 years, our family grew citrus,” said George Bekiaris, managing director of Sparta Valley Fruits. “But our father is a dentist, if you can believe it.” Though the path to owning and managing a citrus company wasn't obvious, once the brothers decided they wanted to sell the fruit their family had grown for generations, they went at it with passion. Even their younger sister, Julie, works with the pair.
“We're a new company full of young people, and we have a lot of passion for this,” said George. “With the climate and the temperature here, we think the future of Greece is in the export of fresh produce.” Sparta Valley Fruits currently sources its citrus from about 50 growers, and their annual production hovers around 5,000 tons. The brothers sell domestically and export to most of Europe, and they're exploring sending fruit to Scandinavia next year.
John is the agriculturist, but both brothers take quality control seriously. Both are very hands-on, and early on they knew they had to build their own packing house in order to have complete control of the quality. They knew that in a competitive market, quality would be their ticket in.
“We never cut when it rains or when there's lots of humidity, because it's bad for the fruit, and we constantly check the brix to see it's at the right level,” said John. “We've invested in new technology for our packing house, which will be controlled electronically. We also won't sell any fruit from our cartons that's not at the best quality. Our brand is something valuable, so we want to protect it.” Though they could emphasize their family tradition in the company's branding, the brothers know that excellent quality is essential to compete in a market, but it's not enough on its own.
“We sell a product that brings up history, and people buy things that have history because they will think about eating an orange that was grown where the famous Leonidas and 300 lived,” said George. “So we went with the strong brand name. When you go to market and everyone has good quality, people buy from the brand name that stands out.”
For more information:
Sparta Valley Fruits
George Bekiaris
tel 0030-6944-179949
email spartavalleyfruits@gmail.com
web http://spartavalleyfruits.gr/index-en.html
Author: Yzza Ibrahim / Carlos Nunez