Baking & Snack - February 2024 - 41

OPERATIONS
Papadopoulos
Papadopoulos doubles the size of its Oinofyta bakery to meet the demand for its
popular sliced bread, the only one in Greece produced in a clean room.
by Dan Malovany
A
Anyone born and raised in Greece treasures the many
childhood memories of swimming in the crystal blue
Aegean Sea, visiting the Acropolis for the first time or
snacking on everyday treats made by E.J. Papadopoulos
S.A., which introduced European-style biscuits to this
country 102 years ago.
" We grew up, not only my generation but the previous
one, with these products, " noted Markos Revelakis,
manufacturing director for the Athens-based company.
" I remember the products being distributed to grocery
stores in tin cans, so it was more or less bulk cookies and
biscuits at that time. They are incorporated in our DNA. "
In Greece, some institutions achieve legendary status
over time. Today, Papadopoulos is one of those household
names.
It's the leader in the sweet and savory biscuit market
and crackers and cookies and a prominent force in digestive
cereal bars and toasted rusks, which are similar
to melba toast in the United States.
Some of its popular brands include Petit Beurre,
Miranda, Cream Crackers, Filled Sandwich Biscuits,
Digestive, Krispies and Traditional Village Rusks.
Internationally, the company's signature Caprice cocoa
and hazelnut wafers are sold in 69 countries, and in fact,
20% of its total biscuit business comes from exports.
" Our top-selling products are the flagships of the
company and some of the first ones that we introduced,
such as our plain biscuits, our sandwich biscuits with a
cream filling inside, and our cream crackers made with
a sourdough recipe and a laminating process with 1,296
layers to create its unique texture, " explained Eleftherios
Makras, the company's R&D director. " We still follow
the most traditional processes, but with modern technology,
all of the other products are pretty automated. "
He attributes the family-owned company's success
to its owners, including third-generation Ioanna
Papadopoulou, president of the board and chief executive
officer, and fourth-generation Evangelos
Argyropoulos-Papadopoulos, vice president of the
board and deputy CEO.
" Our CEOs are obsessed with quality, " Mr. Makras
said. " Consumers know that the Papadopoulos brand
means quality, and they have confidence in what we do
and trust in us from the type of ingredients we use to our
focus on food safety. These are the pillars of our success. "
During the past decade, Papadopoulos, with more
than 200 million euro ($220 million) in annual sales, has
been diversifying by leveraging its expertise in biscuits
to develop a more healthful and flavorful line of wholesome
digestive cereal bars that reimagined the market
in Greece. Moreover, the pursuit to be a more broadline
food company prompted Papadopoulos to enter the
sliced packaged bread market in 2013. It was a dramatic
shift for the operations group.
" Bread was not only a new category, but it was also a
major change for our company because it was the first
fresh product that we introduced that didn't have a sixto
12-month shelf life and required a change in distribution, "
Mr. Makras said.
Mr. Revelakis said it was a very cautious first step.
" Very quickly, it proved to be not enough capacity at
all because our entrance into the bread market was so
successful, " he said.
In 2015, the company increased bread capacity in the
Oinofyta bakery, but again, it couldn't keep up with the
demand. In 2022, a 38-million-euro ($41.8 million) expansion
including buildings, production line and utilities,
doubled the size of the now 220,000-square-foot
operation. The company added new ingredient handling
capabilities and a computer-controlled bread line that
cranks out 4,200 loaves an hour.
About 300 people work at the Oinofyta bakery, which
houses two bread and two rusk lines. Overall, about
1,500 are employed at the company, which produces its
biscuits, crackers, cereal bars and more at its Athens,
Volos and Thessaloniki bakeries before shipping the
www.bakingbusiness.com / February 2024 Baking & Snack 41
A four-pocket divider
feeds dough pieces
to a cone rounder
prior to intermediate
proofing before
moulding and
panning.
Sosland Publishing Co.
http://www.bakingbusiness.com
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