Mani Foods

MANI FOODS SA

EXCELLENCE IN OLIVE PRODUCTS

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Founded in 1990, Mani Foods SA is a family business that produces, packages and exports olives and olive oil. It is based in Kalamata, Greece - home of the famous olive variety - and is proudly female led, a rarity in its industry. Demie Cononelos is the Managing Director. She explained to Hannah Barnett how the company aims to be exceptional in everything it does.

There is little doubt that Mani Foods is a company focused on maintaining a high standard of quality across the board. Running through all its operations is its motto, the simple but significant ‘we strive for excellence.’

Managing Director Demie Cononelos described this ethos in more detail: “One of our most fundamental core values is that whatever we would not offer to our own family to eat, we will not ship to our customers. We believe in excellence, and we strive for excellence. Our products reflect that.”

Thirty years of growth

Over the last 30 years Mani Foods has been rewarded for its focus on quality over quantity with steady growth and expansion of the business.

Moving from the early days when the workforce numbered just two, the company has swelled its ranks to over 55 employees It exports its olives and olive oil to more

than 42 countries, across five continents. In 2007, the headquarters, warehouses and production areas were relocated to new, modern, well-equipped facilities in Kalamata.

The company reports its annual growth as between 12% and 15%. That figure even stood firm during the height of the Covid19 pandemic, when the industry was hit particularly hard. Mani Foods’ turnover in 2022 was €12 million.

Alongside growth, Mani Foods has estab lishe d its brand and is widely recognised as one of the leading Greek exporters. As Ms Cononelos put it: “The company has elevated the standards of quality assurance into a league of its own.”

Ms Cononelos added that busi ness relationships were equally important in bringing Mani Foods to where it is today: “The key characteristic of a long-term relationship of any kind is trust, and in business there is no

difference. Behind every business there are people. Human relationships are built upon trust.”

Superiority of products

What makes the company stand out is that Mani Foods is specialised rather than broad , refined rather than simple, and does what it does extremely well.

The company is of one the leading pro ducers of speciality olives, olive oil and speciality foods. It offers a wide range of olives of the green, kalamata and greenstuffed variety Additionally, it has a range of four types of private label olive oil.

For any business, growth is dependent on several factors that are often difficult to control. This may be a rise in costs or fluctu ations in the global supply chain and might impact multiple industries at once. The reason might also be more specific.

Ms Cononelos was reflective on the nature of the olive oil industry in the present day. She stressed the necessity of appreciating the value of the Mani Foods product: “Our industry, in my opinion, is going through an identity crisis.

“Greek olives and olive oil are two excep tional products, high in nutritional value and flavour. Unfortunately, our industry has not fully recognised this truth to promote and

sell it for what it’s worth, and many compa nies try to sell it as a common commodity:

“Many big clients of the industry compare the product between countries strictly on price instead of flavour, colour and so on. That is really damaging our industry. Mani Foods is established on the uniqueness of Greek olives and olive oil. In my opinion, the market is big and mature enough to recognise the value of Greek olives and olive oil, and our sector should invest in that.”

Creative sustainable solutions

Striving for excellence is not limited to the product itself. Mani Foods is inventive when it comes to its packaging, too.

“We offer innovative containers like portable cups and pots of brineless olives,” said Ms Cononelos. “As well as pouches with single-size portions for busy people who want a healthy option for a snack or as an addition to their meal. Also, we have a dedicated and unique production process for customers that demand pitted products.”

Not content with its commitment to enhancing the customer experience, the company is also dedicated to improving its sustainability status wherever it can.

Ms Cononelos expanded further on this concept: “Sustainability is one of the major

sectors we plan to invest in. We believe and support all the global efforts toward sus tainability in every aspect, from production to final packaging. We work hard to ensure that almost all components are produced by factories that promote sustainable methods of production. Also, we try to use recycled materials whenever possible. Our carton boxes are made of 76% to 100% recy cled paper.”

A future of excellence

Mani Foods intend to push for growth over the next few years, typically while also pledging to remain specialised and exceptional.

“We are expanding our factory lines,” said Ms Cononelos. “That work will allow us to specialise in a new range of products focusing more on the Mediterranean diet.”

In the company’s vision for its future, Ms Cononelos once more highlighted the importance of strong working partnerships as an essential element: “With of most of our suppliers and clients, we have a longterm relationship, and it is all built on trust and open communication. We offer our clients the highest quality of products and we expect our suppliers to treat us in the same way. We invest in innovation and new products. These are the main pil lars of our growth strategy.”

Most importantly though, Ms Cononelos emphasised that the company will always prioritise quality: “Despite its growth, Mani Foods maintains its core values and treats its customers and products as a specialty item. We do not strive for volume; we strive for excellence and customer satisfaction and the volume follows us. That is our goal and how we stand out in our sector.” n