Our History
Aegean Food Exports has gone through steady and organic development of almost four decades turning from a personal Company to a modern export agency. Two generations of the Kontos family have offered their resources, thoughts, ideas and energy to the Company, building its reputation and securing its values.
Vassilis Kontos, the Aegean Food Exports founder
Vassilis Kontos with sons Gregory (left) and Kostis (right)
1980 - Vassilis Kontos starting his career as the EVEPY SA export manager
1981 - Vassilis and his wife Stella Kontou with EVEPY SA executives
1989 – En route to possibly the first Greek organic product ever
1992 – Our first BIO orders
1993 – Exhibiting at a Food & Drink fair in Athens
1994 – Sial Paris
1995 – The Aegean Food Exports stand at Anuga Cologne, Germany
1997 - The Aegean Food Exports stand at Fancy Food Show, New York
1997 – The Greek Pavilion at Fancy Food, New York
2001 – Our stand at Anuga Cologne, Germany
2001 – The Aegean Food Exports stand at IFE London
2004 – Sial, Paris
2005 – With Souliotis brothers from Paliria, at Anuga Cologne, Germany
2006 – Kostis and Vassilis Kontos at Sial, Paris
2007 – Vassilis having a break at Anuga Cologne, Germany
2007 – River cruise after Anuga Cologne, Germany
2011 – Exhibiting at Anuga Cologne, Germany
2013 – Vassilis and Kostis at Anuga Cologne, Germany
2013 – Gregory Kontos at Gulfood, UAE
2013 – Gregory Kontos at Anuga Cologne, Germany
2015 – Detrop, Thessaloniki
2016 – Exhibiting at Foodexpo, Athens
2018 – Exhibiting at Foodexpo, Athens
2022 – The Aegean Food Exports stand at Foodexpo, Athens
Vassilis Kontos graduated from the Department of Economics at University of Athens in 1975. Next year he was hired at Evepi Ltd in Athens, the second biggest soft plastics manufacturing industry in Europe, and he was soon promoted to exports director. In Evepi he got tremendous experience exporting plastics to all possible countries in Europe, Canada, the USA, Australia, Egypt, Nigeria, Libya, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Ivory Coast, Surinam and more.
While working in Evepi he started working as a freelancer on the side, offering export and documentation services to smaller Greek manufacturers. He built a portfolio of 25 Greek customers exporting their products all over the world. One of his notorious collaborations was with Lyra, the Greek manufacturer of Playmobil toys at the time.
In 1982 he co-founded Good Luck Ltd along with his Egyptian business partner Hisam Shalaby, exporting lighting decorations and gifts to countries of Middle East and Africa.
In 1985 Vassilis Kontos entered the Greek Food export business for the first time. He started colaborating with Companies like Haitoglou & Co, Caffetex, Astron Messinias, Pelekan, Avez and more. As he invested the entire Company revenue to International Food Shows in London, Cologne, Berlin, Paris, New York and so on, he managed to expand his clientele and operations and build a solid business foundation.
From 1990 Aegean Food Exports started operating from its private office in Agia Paraskevi, in the Athens metropolitan area. In the mid to late 2000’s the second generation of the Company, Kostis and Gregory Kontos got onboard, offering their ideas and re-planning the Company that included a fully operational ERP system, a modern data-bank website and a new workflow model.
Today the Company is exclusively led by Kostis and Gregory Kontos. The last 10 years the team has grown to six people that allowed the Company’s expansion to more Countries, biggest contracts, establishing national distribution super market listings, developing more p/l brands for their buyers and organizing the wine exporting and consulting branch of the Company.
With total annual sales exceeding € 25m., a specialized, well-educated personnel combining new ideas, innovation and experience and its proprietary, environmentally friendly facilities, Aegean Food Exports proves to be one of the most tested and reliable exporting vehicles of Greece.
