How television helped develop the Polish industry from potatoes to microgreens

Eight years ago, Polish restaurant menus mostly featured potato dishes. All that changed with the appearance of TV shows like Top Chef and MasterChef. Being a chef suddenly became a prestigious profession. "Polish restaurants delight in their innovative approach and sophisticated taste. Also, Michelin and Gault & Millau guides appeared on the market," Natalia Lewandowska tells us. In 2012, she started Fusion Gusto, which now provides microgreens and other exclusive products to restaurants across the country.

Initially, the company specialized in deliveries to restaurants in Poznań and Wrocław; over time, it expanded its range of delivery throughout the country. The range offered also expanded significantly over the years. Initially, there were only edible flowers and fresh cut herbs. As one of the first companies in Poland in 2012, Fusion Gusto began to distribute micro herbs imported from Israel. Sprouts in over eighteen varieties also joined the product range, and later they also started importing exotic vegetables and fruits imported from around the world. Last year, together with Israeli partner 2Bfresh, they built a greenhouse for their own microgreens production.

The Sprout Sisters
The new production site in Poland is run by Natalia and Beata, her sister. It's an advanced production unit for sprouts, to supply the Polish market with high quality sprouts all year round.

Natalia has never been a farmer. "I have no technological knowledge about production. However, we have specialists on this topic", she says, explaining how they combine the best of several worlds. "2Bfresh is experienced in production, my sister is an extremely hard-working lady, and my backing in the form of market positioning is our route to success."

Building a brand
Natalia's background in marketing has helped her put Fusion Gusto on the map. "Issues related to building my own brand are very important to me. In my opinion, brand strength is a determinant of a company's quality and effectiveness", she explains.

"The Fusion Gusto brand is consistently strengthening its position within the market and what makes me also very happy in our market segment is that among chefs we are recognized and have a very good reputation."

Step by step
For now, they're planning to focus on the Polish market, which has very high potential according to Natalia. "In the future, we plan to expand production with further varieties of micro herbs and export the product."

Step by step, they will also expand their product range. "I am a proponent of taking small steps. The first step was to start producing micro peas. Seeing a very positive market response and huge interest in the product, I look forward to the future and our plans are to expand production in the coming years."

For more information:
Fusion Gusto
fusiongusto.pl