Every time i meet people who identify the good, who focus on the good and who create for the good, I say to myself "good bless us all". 

Katerina, Haris & Vagia, had a, more than a good, idea that became a, more than a good, company devoted to fine organic goods. They produce high quality herbal tea blends while continually strive to improve and get closer to their goal to contribute to a greener and safer planet for future generations.

Rhoeco, that is the name of their company, is inspired by the Greek word "ροή" [rhoē]  - meaning flow-, ecology [eco]  and cooperation [co].  The three Greek young professionals, ecology enthusiasts and herb lovers praise nature for the goods it offers.

It sounds great to me that they pick and collect the season’s harvest to their certified facilities where they produce and pack their blends in small batches. The whole process is made by those three guys, by hand, with honesty and integrity.

Enjoy the recorded interview with Katerina where in each answer of her, i can find for sure so many goods for thought and action. Since the recorded interview is in Greek, you can read it also below translated in English.

Twelve winks: Herbs demand love and devotion. Where does your relationship with them comes from.

Katerina/Rhoeco: It is a fact that, if we didn’t love the magic world of herbs and their multiple uses, it wouldn be impossible for us to do our job with pleasure (Rhoeco company). Through discussions with my colleagues Vagia and Charis, we realized that all the three of us had grown up in houses that you would always find a jar of “grandma herbs’’ in the cupboard. During our mutual studies in Agricultural, we learnt and studied the Aromatic and Pharmaceutical plants (which is the official name for ‘’herbs’’) through various courses and labs. It was then, we had our first contact with the potential application of organic farming in cultivations and its high significance for the consumer.

That was our initial plan, to cultivate the herbs we were going to use to our products ourselves, therefor we started with an experimental field which we own until now. However, due to the many obligations that follows by a new corporation’s establishment, we realized it would be impossible to reach the high quality standards which we have raised to ourselves. Besides, there were (and still are) many skilled producers in Greece, with years of experience and we thought that it would be more beneficial for us to take advantage of their crops, considering that they have a mass of experience in farming but they lack of marketing insight in terms of how to promote the product to the markets, let alone the markets beyond the borders of Greece. There is a great amount of excellent quality product which remains unexploited.

The close connection our team has with herbs since childhood, our experimental studies, and the kind of relationship we share with the producers -the knowledge that we give and receive from them - are the elements that keep our love and interest for herbs constantly building up.

Twelve winks: They say that good comes back at you. Your love for herbs brought important collaborations for you as well in Greece as abroad. According to you, what it was that made your partners trust both your idea and product?

2.     Katerina/Rhoeco: I think you said it all! Our love was the reason which led us to create products that brings out this country’s wealth, so anyone who meets them through Rhoeco could stay with the best impression.

We create high quality products from certificated fields and after conducting a number of tests and actions, we finally we package our products one by one with absolute certainty and dignity for the quality result. Our products are exactly the kind of products where we would like to be able to find such of them during our short stay abroad for our MSC’s studies, which unfortunately we couldn’t find then.

Rhoecο’s main principles are ecology and transparency throughout all the stages of production. Rhoeco constitutes by us and its producers and as long as every step is under our control  by us, we keep these two principles remain unchanged.

Therefore, these are the elements we are trying to convey to all of our partners in Greece and abroad, and we think that this is the exact same reason that make our partners love and trust our products in order to promote them through their own companies.

Twelve winks: 3 owners, 3 minds, 3 hearts. In what way the fact that you are 3 friends-coworkers has affect the function of your company?

 Katerina/Rhoeco: Sometimes we are 3 and other times we become as 1. Our friendship and common experiences from after a certain age are the things that made us visualize and build the same “future” together. At that point we were and still remain as 1. We share the same dreams and that is enough to keeps us heading forward as a team and as a company.

Nevertheless, there are times we think that it is so important that we are neither 1 nor 2, not 10. We are 3 and the one completes the other, corrects the other if it is necessary and look into every new idea or prospective from a different point of view.

From the beginning each one of us took his position in the company, which is a very important factor to ensure the smooth function of the company, however all the subjects are under discussion and analysis. We are a small scale and new company, so it couldn’t be otherwise.

Twelve winks: Would you like to share a secret which could be a subversive or a complementary element to what we already know about herbs?

 Katerina/Rhoeco: It’s not as a secret but as an information that many do not have and being surprised when we mention it. We do not wash herbs at any stage of the product procedure -from field until consumption. The first wash is in our cup! As you can understand, it’s highly important to consume herbs from carefully selected and tested fields away from conventional farmings where likely a use of chemicals could take place affecting a nearby “virgin” field, such as trees cultivation’s fogging.

 Twelve winks: History often shows that whatever happens with method and love leads to success. Your product is standing out also for its quality as for its eco-friendly packaging. What is your philosophy?

Katerina/Rhoeco: To answer to the first stage of your question, we don’t know for sure where Rhoeco will lead us but every day is a success for us. We are genuinely proud of what we have accomplished so far with Rhoeco both on a personal and team level. We are deeply grateful for all the opportunities and experiences our so far business activity  has given us. I speak with certainty on the behalf of my colleagues because with everything that is going on lately in global level, we had to make that conversation in order to review our “wants”.

I believe I have already exhausted the question regarding the quality of our products. As for our eco-friendly packaging that is indeed a result from our philosophy. Our motto is “We promote well-being by preserving the Earth”. We couldn’t do anything less for the planet which is the one that gives us lavishly its 100% natural ingredients to use in our botanic brews. Everything starts and ends there- Let’s respect it!

 Twelve winks: What raises your serotonin in your everyday life?

 Katerina/Rhoeco:  To begin with, it’s the passion for what we do. For such a small company as Rhoeco, every single day is a challenge with lots of happy moments and also unpleasant overturns, which when you find a way to overcome that is when the serotonin reach different levels. In other respects, it’s such a beautiful thing to work to an environment that you created yourself exactly as you want it to be, so i have to admit that our serotonin is always high. Our microcosm, as we usually call the facilities of Rhoeco where we spend most of our time during the day, has it all. Especially? Scents of nature! We couldn’t ask for more. We wish to anyone who desires it, to fulfil it.

All of the above images are from the image library of Rhoeco -Fine Organic Goods- company.