- Athenians abandon the urban world in favor of an agrarian way of life
CHIOS, Greece — Four years ago, Evangelos Xydas decided to leave his hotel job to open a small specialty food business in an orchard on the Greek island of Chios.
He knew he was taking a risk given that Greece was entering an economic recession and debt crisis that would make it the epicenter of the current European financial crisis. But the hotel only offered work in the summer and was vulnerable to the ups and downs of the tourism industry.
“It’s work that lasts all year,” he says, leaning against a lemon tree in a courtyard in the village of Kambos.
Today, his company Citrus produces 120 products, including delights such as almond delights and smoked feta. And some in Greece believe that entrepreneurs like him can help save the Greek economy in a way that bailouts and austerity programs cannot, by selling the world what only Greece can offer: the Aegean diet.
That means focusing on specialties that have been part of Greek culture for millennia, including olive oil, citrus fruits and mastica, an evergreen resin used to make strong drinks and other products.
Inspired by the global success of Greek yogurt brands such as Fage, Athenians are leaving city life, where opportunities are scarce, and moving to rural towns and island villages to begin an agrarian lifestyle as farmers, factory workers and food entrepreneurs.
Some believe the Greeks did not respond aggressively to an unmet global demand for their food and drink. Derided by Northern Europeans for its alleged lack of ambition and work ethic, Greek Mediterranean culture is considered by many to be simple, healthy and enjoyable.
Food and agriculture are two of five Greek consulting industries that McKinsey & Co. highlight as having the greatest potential for future growth.
The company projects that Greece’s food industry and agriculture could grow from $27 billion in revenue and 710,000 jobs in 2010 to $42 billion and 970,000 jobs by 2020.
This could have a considerable impact in a small country of 11 million people, more than 25% of whom are unemployed (a rate that is double among the 15-24 age group). Xydas employs 12 people, compared to four in 2008.
“We haven’t seen any growth, but we haven’t seen our income go down, so we feel good,” he says, showing people around the kitchens where workers roll out huge sheets of dough to make cookies with almond. “We believe that our future will follow that of Greece.”
Xydas had to lower its prices by 20% in 2012. And the kitchen is operating at 70% capacity. But it says it plans to increase its capacity so it can export to other countries.
This orchard, like others in the Kambos domains, was planted by Genoese settlers from Italy in the 14th century. Kambos oranges were once sold as exotic delicacies, wrapped in gold embossed paper and exported to Europe.
But Chios’ merchants withered with the invention of the telegraph, which improved communication between the United States and Europe and led to an influx of citrus products from America to Europe.
Chios oranges became commodities rather than luxury goods, and many of the approximately 200 citrus plantations became ornamental plantations. Xydas and others are trying to revive the industry.
Chios Fruits was established in 2009 by Chios Citrus Cultivators, a growers association that purchased a juice factory from a family of shippers and upgraded it to produce premium juices marketed as coming from the one and only Chios Fruits orchard. Kambos.
Ariousios, a winery, opened near the village of Amani in Chios in 2008 with modern winemaking facilities and tasting rooms. Four years later, it produces 150 tons of wine per year and plans to expand its production to 300 tons per year.
Farmers and industry associations for dairy, yogurt and olives are also following the trend.
The Greeks also see a great opportunity to market mastica, the sap of the Pistacia lentiscus. This small evergreen tree grows almost exclusively on the southern coast of Chios and its resin has been used for centuries in foods, soaps, chewing gum, medicines and alcoholic beverages.
The ancient Greeks are said to have chewed a gum derived from the bark of the tree, and the Chios Mastiha Producers Association is working to find markets for the product around the world.
Ilias Nik. Smyrnioudis, the association’s production manager, said that more and more Greeks are leaving Athens to cultivate Chios’ mastic trees, and mastic production is steadily increasing by 15% per year and reaching 150 tons per year.
The association aims to develop exports of its gum to the Middle East. It funds medical research that claims to show that mastic is good for digestion and dental health. And it is expanding its product lines in mastic soaps, sweeteners, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and as an ingredient in food and alcoholic beverages.
MastihaShop stores have opened in New York, France, Saudi Arabia and Cyprus, with more planned for Dubai and London.
The store, of which the association is co-owner, “aims to make mastic known throughout the world,” explained Smyrnioudis.
McKinsey says global markets are prepared for Greek food products. So it might just be a matter of improving capacity as well as improving marketing and distribution to grow an economy that has been in recession for years and hampered by public sector employment growth relative to the sector private.
“Local conditions (climate, soil) contribute to the production of very tasty products that are in high demand on international markets,” explains Peggy Velliotou, partner at KPMG in Athens.
Greek food companies such as Vivartia, dairy company Fage SA and mineral water company Souroti say they expect strong growth. Greek yogurt in particular is growing much faster than other yogurt brands, so much so that some say their brand is subject to competition from counterfeits. Fage sued its American-Turkish rival Chobani to ban it from using the “Greek yogurt” label in its marketing.
Seeing this trend, food entrepreneurs in Greece are developing wine, beans, lentils, chickpeas and even snails.
“Small entrepreneurs, farmers and cooperatives play and will play a key role in the recovery and growth of this industry,” says Velliotou.
Gregory Antoniadis, president of the Greek Association of Olive Oil Packers, said olive cultivation in Greece generates $1.3 billion in income in rural areas and has an effect on 350,000 farming households. But one problem is that almost 150,000 tons of the highest quality extra virgin Greek olive oil are exported each year to Italy and Spain, where they are remarketed as olive oil Spanish or Italian.
“Greece is the third largest producer of olive oil in the world and exports 60% of its production to Italy in bulk, which allows Italy to benefit from an additional 50% premium on the price of the product final packed,” noted the McKinsey authors. .
Antoniadis’ olive organization is intensifying its marketing in America, Northern Europe, Russia and China to capture a greater share of the high-quality olive oil market. He says they’ve seen about 15% annual growth. The group has doubled its exports over the past seven years and aims to double them again over the next five years.
“We have an excess of quality but a deficit in marketing,” he says. The key, he says, is not to increase production but to hire marketers to label the product more as “Greek olive oil” rather than selling it to Spain and Italy.
“As a society, we have failed to capitalize on the benefits of entrepreneurship and globalization: many of us relied on support from the state or the European Union and have lost contact with what was happening in the markets,” Antoniadis said.
The painful economic situation could help Greeks “restructure our economy, regain our competitiveness and restore our entrepreneurial spirit,” he said.
“We must not forget that this nation has founded its economic existence and prosperity over the centuries on being good traders, sailors and visionary entrepreneurs.”
