Haitoglou Bros S.A. is a
Greek food manufacturing and processing company. Headquartered in
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, the company began in 1924 as a small
halva
Halva (also halvah, halwa, and other spellings, Persian : حلوا) is a type of confectionery originating from Persia and widely spread throughout the Middle East. The name is used for a broad variety of recipes, generally a thick paste made f ...
producer and gradually expanded its product range to include
tahini
Tahini () or tahina (, ) is a Middle Eastern condiment made from toasted ground hulled sesame. It is served by itself (as a dip) or as a major ingredient in hummus, baba ghanoush, and halva.
Tahini is used in the cuisines of the Levant and E ...
and several other confectionery products.
Haitoglou primarily sells processed sesame seeds, tahini, halva, wafer rolls and
jam
Jam is a type of fruit preserve.
Jam or Jammed may also refer to:
Other common meanings
* A firearm malfunction
* Block signals
** Radio jamming
** Radar jamming and deception
** Mobile phone jammer
** Echolocation jamming
Arts and entertai ...
. It is the leading sesame processor in Greece.
It exports 45%-50% of its products to several countries, primarily within the EU and the US.
Haitoglou's headquarters complex is located in Kalochori, a small village outside Thessaloniki, Greece and consist of several production, warehouses and office facilities covering approximately 170,000m2.
History
Haitoglou Bros was founded in 1924 by three brothers, Eleftherios, Konstantinos and Savvas Haitoglou who were
Greek refugees originally from Ikonio, Asia Minor. In 1931, the company moved from a small workshop in the center of Thessaloniki to a larger facility in the outskirts of town and moved again in 1962 to Kalochori, where it is still headquartered. Haitoglou Bros expanded its sales to Southern Greece in the early 50s and the brand name Macedonian Halva was originally used to differentiate the product from competitive products made in other areas of Greece.
The company started exploring foreign markets in the 70s, taking advantage of the fact that it was then packing halva in metal tins, which were suitable for international transport, as well as of the fact that Greek immigrants in various countries had retained a taste for Greek delicacies. Haitoglou Bros first targeted the ethnic Greek markets in the Greek diaspora in Germany, the United States and Australia and then built upon its Greek origin and access to the ethnic communities to evolve to a multinational presence targeting healthy lifestyles in general.
Products
Sesame-based products
* Halva
* Tahini
* Sesame Seeds
* Sesame Flour
* Sesame Oil
Confectionery
* Wafer Rolls
* Jam
* Spreads
* Nut Bars
* Sesame Bars
* Turkish Delight
* Dragée
* Cake Mixes
In the news
Haitoglou Bros received extensive news coverage in 1995, when its CEO Alexander Haitoglou was kidnapped and held hostage until his family paid a reported 260,000,000
Greek Drachma in ransom.
Vassilis Palaiokostas
Vassilis Palaiokostas ( el, Βασίλης Παλαιοκώστας; born 17 May 1966 at Moschofyto, Trikala (regional unit), Trikala regional unit) is a Greeks, Greek Bank robbery, bank robber and fugitive known as the "Greek Robin Hood" for his ...
, a notorious Greek criminal and his brother Nikos were convicted for the kidnapping and were both sentenced to 25 years in prison.
References
{{Reflist
External links
* https://web.archive.org/web/20131016104250/http://www.ulyssis.net/archives/889
Food and drink companies of Greece
Companies based in Thessaloniki
Food and drink companies established in 1924
Greek brands
Greek companies established in 1924