Lia Cultivators

Two brothers in Messinia are a typical example of how Greece will be able to get back on the path of development, of how the traditional will marry the modern, about how the new generations will pave the way for traditional products and lead them to high positions in international markets.

Konstantinos and Christina Strimpakou from Filiatra were set to prove that Greek olive oil is not only excellent, but can compete with even the biggest brands internationally. Proof of the awards they have won as the best single variety in the world, Italy EVO IOOC competition and the Italian list of the best olive oils in the world Flos Olei.

We met Christina at the picturesque Watermill in Kyparissia and there she willingly told us her story about how her studies in Italy, in Culture and Art, got married, with the cultivation of the olive tree and its creation. Lia Cultivators:

«Our parents started it 1976 with 19 Koroneiki olive trees in Filiatra, Messinia and with a lot of hard work they managed to have a large olive grove of 2.500 trees. My brother Constantine took care of the estates and I left to study in Florence. I returned and it is true that here in my place there was no employment related to my specialty.

At one point a Dutch friend who came on his bike to Filiatra from the Netherlands, listened to the concerns and was the one who opened my horizons, telling me, but do not you see the wealth that is in front of your eyes? The extra virgin olive oil that we produced we sold it in bulk. I discussed with my family to move on to the next phase. We invited special olive oil consultants from Italy, for olive growing and standardization, we joined a program of the Dutch embassy, ​​the orange grove, an incubator where through a network of entrepreneurs we made a business plan and marketing plan. At the same time, I attended olive oil tasting seminars in Italy, and became an international taster, representing our country as an international taster.

We collaborated with Bob Studio (s.s. one of the best creative offices), we were named Lia Cultivators, from cultivation meaning culture and culture meaning culture, my old "art", and we created a modern logo depicting the old millstone, the traditional way they used to produce olive oil and placed it in a modern vase .

We spent 7 years full of efforts, trips abroad, a lot of work, but at the moment we are enjoying the fruits of our labors since we export 90% of our production in countries such as England, America, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany.»