Dried fruit-producing enterprise "Frutera", located in Kareli municipality, plans to increase production by 200% this year. Davit Gelutashvili, the founder of the enterprise, spoke about this with BM.GE.
According to him, in the first stage, the enterprise produces products with raw materials grown from its own gardens, where about 20 kinds of fruits are grown. But due to the increase in demand, it was necessary to expand production. Accordingly, last year, the company received raw materials from local farms.
"We started production in 2020, and from 2022 we entered the market directly. Currently, the products are sold in the chain hypermarket "Carrefour" and various stores. Last November, we purchased new dryers, and this year, we are going to increase production by 200%.
We invested up to GEL 400,000 to fully organize the enterprise, which currently employs 8 people in various positions. However, it is planned to increase the number of staff after the increase in production.
Last year, we processed up to 30 tons of raw materials during the year. But if we increase the production this year, the amount of raw materials should increase by 1.5-2 times," Gelutashvili says.
Gelutashvili notes that it is a challenge for them to compete with imported products on the market, however, it is a gratifying fact that after trying the products once, they receive new orders.
The enterprise produces 10 types of dried fruit from black plum, apple, pear and etc. company "Frutera" has been operating on the market since 2022.
