Two years ago, Lykos Ltd, founded in 1992, underwent a change of ownership as well as a fundamental restructuring. Nevertheless, the core competence of the wholesale company based at Berlin's wholesale market is still the on-time supply of gastronomers and the direct import of fruits, wines, oils and much more from Greece. Greek asparagus and citrus imports in particular are very well received, Managing Director Stephan Lotz reveals.
With regard to Greek oranges, there had already been some bottlenecks this year. "January is normally a strong sales month for our oranges, but the supply situation is particularly difficult at the moment," says Lotz, who sources mainly Navel as well as Valencia juice oranges from Greece. "Between October and the beginning of August, we can usually fall back on Greek oranges, although we definitely also procure goods from Spain as well as South Africa. Orri clementines from Israel are also being traded in large quantities at the moment, so unfortunately it is quite difficult to bundle the volumes of small citrus fruits from Greece, which is why the goods are mainly of a supplementary nature."
Stephan Lotz with Greek juice oranges
In addition to oranges, Lykos currently imports and distributes kiwis of Greek origin. Lotz: "Similar to many other fruits, Greek oranges and kiwis are currently traded at rather high prices, although the oranges can be offered at slightly lower prices compared to Egyptian goods. Greek kiwis - which are usually available between October and into March - are in direct competition with Italy. We also use Italian produce to supplement Greek imports."
Greek asparagus available from week 10
The seasonal mainstay in Lykos' portfolio is Greek asparagus, which will soon be back on the market in full force. "We will probably be able to offer the first goods in week 10. As a rule, we inevitably have to start the season about three to four weeks before the German season opens, otherwise the extra logistical effort would not be worth it. After all, Berlin is located in the middle of the huge asparagus-growing region of Brandenburg, where a lot of asparagus is grown under plastic. This in turn means that we have to move a lot of volume in the period between calendar weeks 10 and 14. This is because the asparagus market is increasingly establishing itself as a very thin-margined business."
Nevertheless, Lotz looks back on two successful asparagus campaigns. "We have received quality goods from Greece in the last two years. We also place particular emphasis on quality in direct imports: what also helps us is that we have a unique selling point with Greek asparagus at the wholesale market, although Hungary is now also very strongly represented in the early sector."
Increased ancillary costs and staff shortages
Lykos also faces current as well as longer-term challenges in the food industry. "Ancillary costs have increased significantly, although the new refrigeration system in the wholesale market hall has contained electricity and cooling costs to some extent. From a longer-term perspective, staff shortages in particular are increasingly causing us problems. Firstly, because our night-time working hours are unattractive to many young people, but secondly also because it is difficult to find suitable candidates at all for the demanding activities of a modern wholesale company. Because we need people who are preferably multilingual and have a clue about IT and everything around it."
For more information:
Stephan Lotz 
Lykos GmbH
Großmarkt Berlin
Tel: +49 (0)30 39 89 59 -0
Fax: +49 (0)30 39 89 59 -20
Email: mail@lykos-feinkost.de
www.lykos-feinkost.de