A smiling girl stars in the world of coffee and shares the story of a family business that has “seen everything brown” since 1951!
Tell us a little about yourself. How did you start? What made you get into the food industry?
Coffee for me is a family matter — and a matter of the heart.
The company was founded by my grandfather (Georgios Neofotistos) and my grandmother (Spyridoula Neofotistou) in 1951 in Argos, when they opened the first retail store of the company — the Nektar coffee shop on the town’s main market street. Even today, 67 years later, our coffee shop is still a reference point in the Argos region, and my grandmother, Spyridoula Neofotistou, still works there!
At the beginning of the 2000s, with my mother Varvara Neofotistou at the helm, NEKTAR evolved into its new form, with the creation of a new production facility in Fichtia, Mycenae, new product codes and packaging, and a client base across Greece and abroad.
In 2015, I officially took over the company. For me, NEKTAR represents both family memories and a challenge. Beautiful memories in the warehouse among sacks of coffee with our roaster, summers in the Argos coffee shop beside my grandmother, and countless family conversations — always about coffee — nurtured my passion and vision for this company. It’s something I love and continue to learn about every day.
Tell us a little about the brand. What does it stand for? What was its purpose?
Nektar… the drink of the gods, the ideal beverage!
Through our coffee blends and drinks, we want each person to find their own NEKTAR — the one that lifts their mood, keeps them company, and matches their taste. If you think about it, coffee accompanies us in many moments of life — whether someone prefers Greek coffee, filter, flavored, espresso, freddo cappuccino, decaf, etc. — everyone finds their moment through coffee.
That’s why we make it with “meraki” — care and love. So that it meets the expectations of our consumers and clients, and is ideal for them. In business terms, that means high-quality raw green coffee, frequent production cycles to keep our lots always fresh and aromatic, and packaging that reflects care and attention to detail — suitable for the shelf both in Greece and in 26 countries abroad.
The company’s philosophy is to marry tradition with innovation: we preserve our traditional recipes while also exploring new and fresh flavors.
How did you start? What challenges did you face?
Who you work with matters more than what you do…
I believe any entrepreneur operating in a struggling economy will tell you that daily challenges are a given. It’s a constant battle, a daily risk, often without much support for private initiatives.
There are definitely challenges related to competition, as the coffee market is quite saturated. Additionally, new regulations — like the special consumption tax on coffee — bring more bureaucracy, which means more expenses. All of this leads to liquidity freezes in the market. And the list goes on…
But the most important thing is the people you work with and the team you build, more than what you do alone. My father always says, “Nobel prizes are now won by teams, not individuals,” and “two minds are better than one.” So in our company, we say, “problems are just opportunities in disguise.”
Tell us about your products. What makes them different?
I think every parent believes their children are unique — and they should.
That’s exactly how we see our products… like our children.
A well-designed coffee recipe, created with 70 years of experience. Freshly roasted and freshly ground coffee, made from fine quality beans, so our customers enjoy something fresh, aromatic, and of high quality.
Carefully crafted packaging that reflects our company’s and family’s story. A product range that includes both traditional and more unique flavors.
All of this — plus a touch of love — is what we believe makes people love and choose us all these years.
Tell us about your raw materials.
Creating a coffee blend is — and is considered — an art.
The raw material for coffee is… coffee. It’s a commodity, with fluctuating prices influenced by many factors — environmental, political, and economic.
Green, unroasted coffee grows in tropical regions near the Equator. It needs stable temperatures, rainfall, and sunshine. There are thousands of coffee varieties — about 4,800 documented species. Each variety gives off different aromas at different roasting temperatures, and blending (mixing two or more varieties) produces a different final result in taste, aftertaste, and aroma.
Creating a coffee blend — whether Greek, filter, or espresso — is truly an art. It takes time, experimentation, experience, good taste, and above all, meraki and continuous exploration.
Are there any products you’re particularly proud of?
The crown jewel of NEKTAR’s products has always been our Greek coffee. It’s the recipe the company was built on and the base for many of our new flavors.
A particularly special and unique product — offered only by NEKTAR — is our new range of Aromatic Greek Coffees created exclusively for WISE GREECE.
These new flavors, made entirely from natural ingredients like zest and essential oils, are what we consider to be “specialty coffee” for Greek coffee.
Until now, the word “specialty” was associated with espresso, but with this series, we wanted to offer something fresh and unique — a blend of traditional Greek coffee with aromas and flavors of Greece.
That’s how we created flavors like mastic, mastic & rose, chestnut, bergamot, cardamom, and apple & cinnamon — and for a good cause, since profits from this series are turned into basic food supplies for people in great need.
We also can’t forget our line of Organic blends: Organic Greek, Filter, and Espresso, always produced in Mycenae. Organic foods and drinks are gaining ground both in Greece and especially abroad, and this series has brought us into a new, growing market that has embraced our products.
Can you give us some product suggestions (non-traditional uses, tips, or recipes)?
When there’s imagination, there are few limits…
One tested recipe, discovered by internationally acclaimed barista Stavros Lamprinidis during the 2012 World Coffee Championships, where he represented NEKTAR with our Greek coffee, is the Freddo Greek — a cold Greek coffee!
It’s made using a special Greek blend, brewed in a briki or over embers, with only the liquid part (not the grounds) extracted using a special device, and then prepared like a freddo espresso. The result is unique and very aromatic!
Other interesting ideas include brewing Greek coffee using tea instead of water — or even sprinkling ground espresso over an omelet… for the more daring!
Can Greek producers make a difference during the crisis?
The crisis certainly affected and challenged every producer in our country. But it also revealed aspects we might not have expected at first — especially around the concept of “entrepreneurship.”
It led to better use of resources, constant innovation, and awareness of market needs — and how Greek producers can meet them. The crisis forced us to think and act differently — to think globally, but also locally. To work more, and to have a clearer goal and vision for our work and our country.
During the crisis, we managed to bring Greek products — once forgotten — into both the Greek and global spotlight.
Greek product exports increased during the crisis years. Our work style has adapted to global market demands — in quality, packaging, innovation, and logistics. Through our daily efforts, I believe Greek producers now show a different side of Greece — hardworking, visionary, professional — with a wide range of products that resonate and are embraced by consumers.
Why did you choose to support and participate in the Wise Greece Initiative?
WISE GREECE gave a beautiful opportunity to around a hundred Greek producers: the chance for collaboration and, at the same time, an organized platform with a good cause — that of social entrepreneurship.
The satisfaction of knowing that your products — the ones you create with love and care — help put a plate of food on someone’s table is rare.
We chose to make this wise move and become part of this team and partnership because, at NEKTAR, we believe WISE GREECE is sustainable, effective, and actively helps solve a major social issue in our country.
Economists say, “When you’re small, make yourself big through partnerships.” WISE GREECE operates on that principle, and with the help of so many producers, it creates a positive impact for Greece.
