About

Physis Ingredients is a family company, based in Serres. It was founded in 2017, as a subsidiary of Horizon S.A., a Renewable Energy company. In an era where there is a growing demand of consumers for “cleaner” and “greener” products, with less or no artificial ingredients and more natural ones, we decided to invest in the agrifood sector and in the exceptional Greek nature so as to take the best out of it. Our vision is to contribute to the industrial transition to “clean label” products by providing powerful solutions to industries. To this end, we focus all our power to develop and produce innovative natural ingredients, based in thorough research. In this way, we help our clients to give added value to their products and ultimately to the consumers.

Solution & Product

Our mission is to produce botanical extracts and natural bioactive ingredients. We started by setting up contract cultivations of 40 acres of aromatic plants and cornellian cherries, in order to be able to ensure the best quality of our products in all processing stages. Also, we invested in research & development of innovative products. In collaboration with the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, we have developed three technological formulas: an antioxidant extract which expands products’ shelf-life (suitable for foods & cosmetics), a colouring extract that gives natural pigment (suitable for foods) and a feed supplement for ruminants that promotes milk production and good health of the animals. All of them can substitute artificial or potentially harmful additives that many industries already use. Our portfolio also includes a list of botanical extracts, suitable for food & cosmetics industries.

Innovation & Scalability

Physis Ingredients has strategically decided even from its very beginning the continuous investment in R&D in order to develop innovation and stand out of the competition. We have achieved to develop innovation both in our products and the production method. The method offers a number of advantages to the products: a) High solubility of the bioactive compounds, b) Compatibility with food matrices, c) High bio-availability, d) High stability, e) Masking of the bitter taste, f) higher efficiency. It also ensures that the production takes place in low temperatures, therefore it is environmentally friendly. In addition, the method foresees the availability both in liquid and in powder form, which offer great advantages in regards to self-life and logistics, among other scientific benefits. The products are unique, as they are custom formulated and proved to be equally effective to other widely used additives, and so, they offer solutions for industries that seek natural alternatives to established additives. In regards to scalability, the company has easy access to raw materials markets and so, access to bigger quantities and variety of materials in order to enlarge its capacity and enrich its product portfolio. The company aims to create new production products for industry’s needs. It also plans to expand its processing facilities in the next five years. Strategic partnerships with investors are included in the near future plans, as well as funding from relevant programs.

Traction & achievements

In our first 4 years of running, we have achieved to implement the investment in 40 acres of cultivations and three research projects, all of them self-funded. The last ones served as the basis for the development of our competitive advantage. In the meanwhile, and during raising our readiness level (TRL), we have also conducted our production, marketing and investment plan. In addition, we have won two first awards in start-up competitions in our first two years.

Team & Why Us

Physis Ingredients is a family company. Stella Chatzigavriil, specialized in strategic product design and branding, is the general manager of the company and responsible for the development and the marketing strategy. Savvas Chatzigavriil, experienced in business administration for more than 30 years, is the founder and decision maker of Physis Ingredients (and its mother company, Horizon S.A.). Another person with vast experience in plant extractions is production manager. External collaborators (research scientists, producers, consultants) also contribute significantly in the company. Our growth strategy is based in the continuous development of innovative products that respond to new demand of the customers. In the “why us” question, the answer is because: - Our products are custom formulated and unique - Our products are proven efficient through thorough testing for the intended applications - Our production method offers significant scientific and business advantages - Availability in both liquid and powder form of our products meets the custom need of the customers

Funding Needs

Our funding needs are estimated to 600.000 euros and include the construction of a new processing building and marketing actions for the market (Greek and foreign).