Dimitris describes that with exclusively handmade processing he produces the natural juices from pomegranate, with passion, daily occupation and mainly traditional farming! Let’s get to know him…
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?
ELYMNIONRODI PC was started in 2015 by a group of friends in Limni, Region of Evia, with passion in the farming of pomegranate in order to produce products from Pomegranate, the fruit of life, with authentic taste, excellent quality and exclusively handmade processing. We grow 2,000 trees and with cooperating producers from our region we produce pomegranate juice with excellent taste from varieties of Ermioni, Wonderful and ACO.
We combine our juice with Natural Orange Juice for extra freshness, or with Natural Cranberry Juice for extra energy and antioxidants.
Tell us a little bit about the brand. What does he stand for? What purpose did you create it for?
We name the juices we produce EviaJu in order to highlight the wider area of our production but also to give the stigma of locality and creation in the production and processing of agricultural products.
How did you get started? What difficulties did you face?
The beginning as in any new business effort was difficult, given the economic conditions in recent years and the plethora of similar domestic and imported products in the market. The biggest difficulty was the establishment of products in the market, the creation of a customer list and the recognition of products by consumers as authentic and handmade.
Tell us about your products. What makes them different?
We practice traditional farming in our trees with daily occupation and diligence. We produce the juice from our pomegranates in October and November when the natural sugars have reached the ideal levels and we freeze the juice immediately at -18 degrees Celsius in order to preserve all the natural ingredients, phenols and antioxidants.
Pack the juice by hand in glass bottles after thawing and pasteurization at low temperature without adding any other substance or preservative.
Tell us about the raw materials?
The basis for the extremely natural and sweet taste of our final products is the pomegranate fruit with its natural properties. Its treatment is done in a completely natural way by separating the blister and pressing the seeds to a certain extent in order to avoid the bitter aftertaste of the pomegranate seeds. We use natural Orange and Cranberry juice – not from concentrated juice for our products Pomegranate-Orange and Pomegranate-Cranberry.
Are there any of your products that stand out?
All our products have excellent natural flavors without adding preservatives or sugar. Particularly strong taste has the Pomegranate-Cranberry Juice that combines the properties of antioxidants with superfood.
Give us some suggestions for your products (ways of use except the classics, tips or recipes, etc.)
Apart from the classic recipes where pomegranate is used as a fruit (salads, etc.), one can use pomegranate juice instead of water, making traditional sweets e.g. ravani, walnut pie where the pomegranate will really take off the taste of the sweet.
Can Greek producers make a difference in the midst of the crisis?
Especially small producers like us have been severely affected by the economic crisis and the covid 19 pandemic. However, while maintaining constant quality and seeking partnerships and alternative sales networks, opportunities for direct communication with consumers and small stores selling special food products are offered.
Why did you choose to participate in and support the Wise Greece Movement?
Apart from the sales growth that we expect from this cooperation with specialized stores for consumers looking for traditional and authentic products, we consider that the work of Wise Greece is important and fits perfectly into the culture of our company.
