Ekofungi to penetrate markets of Switzerland and UAE – Know-how soon in Nigeria and Mauritius

The eKapija portal has opened the contest for the best investment in 2018 – Aurea 2019. In anticipation of the new winners, we have visited the companies shortlisted last year to see how far they've come in their business development.

The Belgrade-based company Ekofungi, an Aurea 2018 nominee, developed and marketed a new product in 2017 – an organic dehydrated vegetable mix, based on a unique dehydration technology, which extracts moisture from the vegetables instead of drying them, thereby keeping their nutritive qualities.

The concept is based on the production of organic portobello mushrooms and the buyout of surplus organic vegetables from farmers in Serbia. By rehydrating the mix, in only 3-4 minutes, a 40 g pack produces half a kilogram of fresh vegetables that can be prepared by anyone, from vegans to gourmands.

– The Aurea 2018 nomination is especially important for us considering the reputation of this contest and the eKapija portal. We saw it as a proof of our quality – Ivana Milenkovic, the CEO of Ekofungi, says in her interview with eKapija.

She points out that there were surprised at how well the local market responded to their product, but that a lot still remains to be done.

– We are a small, but ambitious company, which has no competition, speaking objectively, which means that it is up to us to educate the market and the consumers, and that is a very hard job. Still, we are slowly making progress. After the success in the local market, we are now penetrating the market of Switzerland and, very likely, the United Arab Emirates as well – Milenkovic says.

As she says for our portal, the company has upgraded its quality testing laboratory and procured the line for the processing of the spent substrate and compost in the meantime, so they now have a 100% circular approach to production.

– Furthermore, we have also procured another dehydrator and our current production capacities are 25,000 bags of the organic dehydrated vegetable mix. This practically means that we can process all surplus organic produce in Serbia into this modern food product – eKapija's interviewee says.

When asked about the plans for the upcoming period, Milenkovic emphasizes that Ekofungi does not plan to expand the production in the usual sense.

– That is neither our vision nor our idea. We want to remain a small producer of dehydrated mixes, that is, of premium food. After all, there are no ingredients in the local market that could support that kind of expansion. We plan to fortify our market position with the current production volume, with around 80% in exports and around 20% in the local market, along with the expansion of the production through the sale of knowledge and brand names – our interviewee explains.

According to her, the development strategy of Ekofungi is based on the sale of ideas and hardware as a whole and penetrating markets that way – not with finished products, but with the sale of knowledge and know-how, in order for the Ekofungi product to be made the same way everywhere.

– Our knowledge is a very important exporting article. We are now negotiating with French investors who invest in the production of good food and edible mushrooms in Nigeria, as well as with a investment group in Mauritius – Ivanka Milenkovic reveals for our portal.

B. Petrovic

EKOFUNGI

Ivanka Milenkovic

organic dehydrated vegetable mix

dehydrated vegetable mix

production of organic portobello mushrooms

buyout of surplus organic vegetables in Serbia