Greek-made quality caviar exported by Epirus' VIKI Group

Thesauri, a high quality caviar, and organic pork meat are two very strong cards in the hands of VIKI Group's management, Andreas Mintsios, managing director of VIKI told ANA.

In an interview, Mintsios noted both caviar production and production of innovative meat products and processing both compose a dynamic profile of the Group and stressed VIKI was determined to play a leading role in the food sector. The dynamism of the Epirus-based company has already attracted investors' interest. "We have received several proposals in the last few years," Mintsios said, adding: "our aim is to be autonomous in the market. The crisis created the need for synergies. Proposals have been made, one of them by Greek businessman Spyros Theodoropoulos. We are listening to these proposals very carefully, we assess them and we are carefully following developments in the market. The sector has seen many changes in the last few years". He stressed that VIKI has not reached any deal.

"We are not seeking partnership. We have not approached anyone. We are not thinking about selling the company. However, proposals are being made and that's an honour for our company," he pointed out.

Thesauri is one of the very few companies in the world that is involved in sturgeon farming and caviar production and the only such enterprise in Greece. Exports account for 99 pct of caviar production, totaling three tons of caviar, with main export markets situated in Europe, mainly Germany.

Annual turnover is 1.0 million euros, with a goal to rise to 4.0 million euros in the next three years.

Based in Arta, VIKI is one of the largest industries in Epirus. It has its own installations covering an area of 46,000 sq.m., with a total annual production capacity of 60 tons. It owns an organised distribution network with a big fleet of freezer trucks, two large distribution centers in Athens and Thessaloniki and a parallel network of partners around Greece (41) and abroad.

Mintsios underlined that a series of innovative products based on organic pork was currently being distributed on a pilot basis in the market, with a full range expected to hit market shelves in 2018.

He added the domestic market for processed meat showed signs of stabilisation this year, after three years of decline. "We expect 2017 to be a year of stable consumption with a mild increase of consumption expected in 2018," Mintsios said.

VIKI reported a 2.0 pct growth in turnover in the first nine months of 2017, with turnover expected to reach 21 million euros this year. The company had a market share of 7-8 pct in 2016.

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Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Charles Haynes License: CC-BY-SA

Source: ANA-MPA