While the popularity of fresh cut vegetables is growing throughout most of the world, a majority of Greek consumers still prefer to touch, feel and select the vegetables themselves and have been slow to warm up to packaged vegetables in general.
"We are the largest producer of broccoli, cauliflower and Romanesco in Greece and this year we wanted to be the first to offer our customers fresh cut florets in 300 gr punnets. This year, the florets will be available in all major supermarkets and in the wholesale market. We were at this year's Freskon to promote our new product and the new brand "MSFARM", which we are really excited about," stated Markos Sapountzoglou.
The broccoli growing season in Greece runs from the middle of September through the middle of June, which means that there are only a few weeks left. Along with serving the domestic market, Markos said that they export to Germany and Poland to help fill supplies when there are gaps in production.
"We have seen that the market is slowly changing and would like to be in the front. The most important thing is that you listen to your market, a big trend in Western Europe is broccoli or cauliflower rice, but it would be suicide to try to offer something like that right now, I think that the florets are perfect for the younger generations who are wanting the convenience that something like this offers," explains Markos.
During the summer, the producer switches to melons, which fit in nicely between the brassica season, from around 10 July through to the middle of September. They produce yellow canary ("Ducral") melons, canteloupe, and Galia melons, mostly destined for the domestic market, but 8% is also exported to the UK.
Markos Sapountzoglou
MSFARM
Tel/Fax: +30 2382093307