2023 was a year of great business growth for MEVGAL, with the development path continuing this year, always amidst consecutive investment programs.
The company, as its president, Mary Hatzakou in “N”, emphasizes, implements investments for the continuous improvement of quality, the modernization of its facilities, the automation of the production process, the increase of its possibilities for the production of new products and the reduction of its footprint on the environment.
Recently, therefore, as Hatzakou notes, an investment of 20 million euros was completed to modernize the feta production unit, “a fact that underlines our faith in our national product, something that has continued since the past, since its founder MEVGAL, Konstantinos Hatzakos was the first to innovate by launching the brand’s packaged feta on the Greek market, which until then had only been sold in packaging”.
With the completion of this investment, MEVGAL becomes one of the
the most modern industries of their class in the entire Balkan region.
Furthermore, for the two years 2024-2025, MEVGAL’s investment plan is
worth 15 million euros and includes, among others, new packaging machines for milk and white cheeses, expansion of refrigeration areas for
covering the ever-increasing needs, but also investments in photovoltaic energy and possibly in a biogas production unit from
Industrial waste.
It should also be noted that from 2016 to today its investments
MEVGAL exceeds 50 million euros.
Boosting exports
Strong extroversion has been a characteristic of MEVGAL for many decades, since it first introduced its products abroad in 1985.
It started with Italy and today the company is present in more than 35 countries, with exports representing 40% of its total turnover, which was 23% higher in 2023 than last year.
Its biggest customers are in European countries, but there is also a continuous expansion into new markets. “We export 65% of the feta and
60% of the yogurts we produce, the largest percentage being branded products.
The interest in expanding to more countries is ongoing and methodical actions are being taken in this direction to approach new markets.
At MEVGAL we are proud that through our exports we improve the country’s trade balance, creating internal wealth and at the same time becoming ambassadors of the Mediterranean diet throughout the world.
I am also proud that since 1985, traveling with my father, we have seen MEVGAL products on the shelves of Italy, England and other European countries.
During these trips, I promised myself that I would continue his work,” emphasizes Ms. Hatzakou.
In this sense, it is estimated that MEVGAL’s participation in the International Summer Fancy Food Show, in New York, this June, has opened the “doors” even further to further increase the company’s already strong export presence in the North American market through
of its partnership with Cosco.
Increasing sizes
The year 2023 closed for MEVGAL with a turnover of 182,914 million euros compared to 153,859 million in 2022 and a further increase is expected for this year, at the level of 196 million euros.
Thus, the company’s operating profits (EBITDA) in 2023 were set at 15.549 million euros against 7.644 million euros in 2022 and for 2024 they are budgeted at 18.5 million euros.
He passed on his love for milk, his faith in people and his partners, and his vision for the future and innovative developments to subsequent generations, to whom he handed over the MEVGAL baton.
Furthermore, a characteristic phrase of the founder of MEVGAL was that milk runs in his veins. A phrase that indicates his deep love for milk and its products and the equally deep devotion with which he served his vision, as well as the new generations of the family.
The historical trajectory of the dairy industry
The history of MEVGAL begins in 1950, when Konstantinos Hatzakos, from a family of refugees with a long tradition in dairy farming, decided to work in the sector by founding the
MEVGAL and laying the foundation stone for what comes next.
Initially he dedicated himself to collecting milk and quickly moved on to processing, namely the production of feta cheese and caseri. In 1952 he rented a warehouse on Filippou Street in Koufalia, Thessaloniki,
where he organizes the cheese factory that will become one of the largest dairy industries in Greece.
In 1967, the new factory began operating on the outskirts of Koufalia, in the area where it is still located today. In 1971 the founder
in direct response to law 4.085/60 on mandatory pasteurization of milk, installs a bottling line in transparent bottles
of polymeric material.
In 1978, he took MEVGAL a leap forward with the production of European-style yogurt, while in 1985 he was the first industrialist to
sells standardized products and dares to export Greek yogurts and cheeses.