Philippos Hellenic Goods

What happens when Swiss rationalism and professionalism are married in a business with the timeless Greek perception of things, quality of life, imagination and creativity?

But simply, a very successful business, a diamond of European entrepreneurship, a synthesis of the historical legacy that Greece has in the production of the frieze olive oil for thousands of years - thanks to the great sunshine and the unique Greek climate - and all this in combination with the most modern technology and the most advanced forms of marketing.

Η Philippos Hellenic Goods is an olive oil standardization unit in Hive in Aegina and is a creation of the businessman Philip Polly. Growing up in Lausanne, Switzerland, to a Greek mother - the Papastratos family - and a Swiss father, Philip came to Greece at the age of 24 to run the Papastratos family business. There for 20 years he contributed to the development of the state tobacco industry and gained important experiences both from production and from the "Greek peculiarity".

I met his company from its elegant stand at Aegina Pistachio Festival 2015 and it was natural for the visit to its headquarters in Kypseli to occur. Its facilities are also a composition of a modern architecture of two minimal cubes (production spaces and warehouses) in the green color of olive with a traditional house (office spaces) with white plaster and floors of gray cement mortar. So in this production unit, and of standard elegance, the facilities resemble due to cleanliness and technological cutting, an intensive unit or even better a space station.

Here come the selected oils from Laconia, Messinia and Sitia, stored in refrigerated tanks (all properly controlled through a computer network) are made into blends and bottled in excellent packaging. Because the company's policy is either to standardize oil of a specific organic olive grove or to make blends that are the weakness (probably due to prehistory) of Philip. And from there to be sent directly to the final consumer.

"My misery was the sad fact that large quantities of Greek gold oil were sold in bulk to foreigners (primarily Italians), who reaped the much more profitable standardization and packaging. On the other hand, my life in Aegina gave me an incredible quality of life - I used to go every day to Papastratos in Piraeus from Aegina - and I felt that it was a blessing of God to live - and create - in Aegina. So I decided to build my unit here. "

Of course, fully aware of the "Greek peculiarity", he did not neglect to ensure its autonomy, both in water, electricity, nitrogen production, but also in waste collection, so as to face any unpleasant eventuality.

Leaving my meeting with Philip, a verse by Elytis came to my mind: If Greece is completely destroyed, there will be an olive tree, a vine and a boat. It is enough to be rebuilt from scratch.