Fotini describes us how with imagination, will and the right raw materials you can make a differenet, even though in middle of a crisis!
Tell us a little bit about yourself? How did you get started? How did you come up with the idea to get involved with food?
Our company is a purely family business, which was founded in 1993 in Drama by my parents, Maria and Vassilis. I have been involved in the business since I was a child, either for office jobs or in production, but since 2014 I have been officially involved. My studies are about food, I studied Food Technology at the Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, which helped in the further development of the business.
Tell us a little bit about the brand. What does he stand for? What purpose did you create it for?
The preservation of vegetables for the winter period with their drying in the sun and the wind was done by the grandmothers and grandparents in the summer who had fresh vegetables from their garden. They dried mainly tomatoes, peppers, hot peppers, green beans, plums, figs and generally what was left over from their garden. My parents, having this knowledge and wanting to expand the idea of drying in a more productive way, proceeded to the construction of a tunnel with warm air and controlled temperature so that fresh vegetables and fruits during drying retain all their physicochemical components, vitamins and trace elements.
The philosophy of our company is the production of products with a special, perhaps capricious taste. Our goal is to meet the needs of even the most demanding palates. So we decided the “WHIMS” to become our name.
How did you get started? What difficulties did you face?
The difficulties are given and daily as far as the self-employed person is concerned. In my case some things were a little easier because I had and have the help of my parents. As far as our own sector is concerned, in particular, there are daily difficulties related to the great competition we have from imported dried fruits and vegetables, which we are trying to deal with by maintaining the high quality of our products. Finally, what is needed in all difficulties is the willingness to overcome them and continue your course.
Tell us about your products. What makes them different?
The main and common point in which a large part of our products is differentiated is the way of drying, which is done at low temperatures for a long time. The combination of the above along with the excellent quality of the raw material give us an excellent product.
Tell us about the raw materials?
Our raw materials come from producers in our region and from the rest of Greece. Our goal is quality, so we dry only during the harvest period of the products.
Are there any of your products that stand out?
Difficult to single out any product. They all have something special that makes them unique and can cover even the most demanding consumers.
Give us some suggestions for your products (ways of use except the classics, tips or recipes, etc.)
Use imagination and everything is done!
Each product has its own specificity. Our dried tomato is ideal as a snack because it contains minimal salt and does not need further processing to be consumed. The four pate codes can be added to a dip but also to the salad and some food e.g. spaghetti sauce, legumes, etc. and give an extra note to the food, as well as our dried vegetables which if you soak them in wine and water can be added to some pie e.g. cheese pie
Can Greek producers make a difference in the midst of the crisis?
The crisis has a lot of bad things but it also has some good ones. This is that many Greeks turned to the primary and productive sector and as a result many remarkable businesses opened during the crisis.
Why did you choose to participate in and support the Wise Greece Movement?
I met WISE Greece through social media and happened to attend some of the seminars it organizes. It is an organization that helps Greek producers, but at the same time it actively helps people who really need it. This intrigued me and so I got in touch with you so that idiotropa to do its bit in solving such a big problem