CASE STUDY Ktima Christoudia
INTRODUCTION The aim of this document is to present the case study concerning Ktima Christoudia winery in Cyprus. The aim of describing such case studies is to show examples of good practices and successful stories of local producers/farmers/SMEs or entrepreneurs that have developed different services and products related to tourism, developing and diversifying their business. The document includes the interview with Mr and Mrs Christoudia based on the following questions: 1.
What is the name of the company and what does it do?
2.
Who are Yiannis and Alexia Christoudia?
3.
How did the business idea arise?
4.
What are the key success factors of this business?
5.
Did the company have any previous knowledge about the market?
6.
How is this business linked with the tourism sector?
7.
What are the main challenges for the next years?
8. What suggestions would the company make to other farmers/ producers/ tourism companies who want to follow their example?
1
quieran seguir tu ejemplo?
CONTENTS
Ktima Christoudia is a family-owned winery located close to Kato Drys village in Cyprus. The winery cultivates their own grapes and creates only limited quantities of high quality white, red and rose wines.
What is the name of the company and what does it do?
Ktima Christoudia also produces traditional Cypriot sweet - soutzoukos - which is made of grape juice, flour and nuts, with no added sugar. Some grapes are dried and sold as raisins. The winery is housed in a new building with modern machinery and facilities. In addition to winemaking premises and wine cellar, there is a shop selling own produce as well as other local products. Everybody visiting the winery is offered free wine tasting and may request a tour of the winery, which is provided by the owners that are happy and proud to show around their business. About half of production is sold in the winery, to visiting tourists and locals. The rest is distributed through shops and restaurants in Cyprus.
Who are Yiannis and Alexia Christoudia?
Yiannis and Alexia Christoudias are the owners of Ktima Christoudia. They have always liked wine and enjoy making it. They have travelled all over Europe to learn the secrets of trade but they prefer working with local grape varieties. Wine has been part of Cyprus history since 4000 years and there is a number of local vines that are or could be used to make unique Cyprus wines. They are of a great interest to Yiannis and Alexia that keep experimenting, developing their vineyards and creating new types of local wine.
2
How did the business idea arise? Yannis and Alexia started producing wine in 1992, first as a hobby providing wine for family and friends. It took 3 years to make their first wine, taking some lessons but mostly learning from own experience. They sold small quantities of wine but didn't consider it a business. Encouraged by success of their hobby, Yannis and Alexia started a winery (called Krelan winery then) in 1999 and moved to the current location in 2011. They got some support from EU funds for the new winery equipment, and initially thought of starting a small hotel as well but then decided to focus on the main business.
What are the key success factors of this business?
Christoudias winery is different as they cultivate only indigenous local grape varieties (Xynisteri, Marathevtiko and others). Those grapes have been grown in Cyprus since thousands of years, and are well adapted to grow in Cyprus and produce unique wines. Furthermore, they have their own stories and tales that can be told to customers. For example, Maratheftiko variety produces long branches but small grapes and they say the name of these "lier" grapes comes from the saying "Maratheftes kleftes" (referring to inhabitants of certain region known as liers). Focusing on local varieties is an important competitive advantage. However, the main success factor of Ktima Christoudia is the people that work here. They love what they do and didn't start this business to get rich. They are hospitable, like to show their winery and offer the wine they make. The quality of product and business location (it's close to well-known villages visited by tourists and locals) contribute to success as well.
Did the company have any previous knowledge about the market?
Yiannis and Alexia visited different wineries, attended seminars but mostly learned from own experience. They didn't do any special market research, however they developed the knowledge about the market over the years, trying to create and sell products that are good and appreciated by customers.
3
How is this business linked with the tourism sector?
When the winery moved to its current location, it was planned from the beginning to work with tourism sector. The building is appropriate to receive tourist groups, they can be offered a tour of the winery, wine tasting, or even a meal with wine. Information boards were created showing what happens in vineyards and winery in different seasons. They keep improving the guided tour, adding different attractions and entertainment (pressing grapes, getting inside a wine tank, tasting wine directly from a barrel, etc.). About half of wines produced at Ktima Christoudia are sold in the shop above the winery, and about 80% (in summer - almost 100%) of customers are foreign tourists. Local tourists come alone; there is no organisation or travel agency that would bring groups of local tourists.
What are the main challenges for the next years?
The challenges include maintaining and improving product quality and introducing new and forgotten local grape varieties. There are many local vines that are not commercially exploited and can only be found in vineyards one by one, among the other cultivated varieties. Some of these rare and forgotten varieties can only be used for wine (not as a fruit for food) and thus were not very attractive for farmers, however they might produce some interesting wines. Ktima Christoudia would like to work with different varieties and introduce new wines. There is also a challenge to be able to deal with the current economic crisis and decreasing numbers of tourists as well as affected purchasing power. The winery is doing some lab tests on soutzoukos (the local grape sweet) in order to establish for how long this traditional local product can be stored. They are also researching another grape product - palouze, aiming to develop a way to package it and increase its shelf life, as there is currently no such packed product on the market.
What suggestions would the company make to other farmers/ producers/ tourism companies who want to follow their example?
The most important advice is to be honest with the clients. The product has to be good, authentic and sold at a correct price. There are boundaries in how much you should charge. Just try to be correct.
4
