New products, new chains and opening up to catering
The plans of the Strakas sausage factory for 2023 were revealed to FOODReporter by the head of corporate development, Giorgos Strakas. Η Στράκας παράγει λουκάνικα από το 1850, με παραδοσιακό τρόπο, με εξειδίκευση στο λουκάνικο, με 100% κρέας, με φυσικό χοιρινό έντερο, χωρίς γλουτένη. It has not expanded into other meat or sausage categories due to its focus on quality. As Straka’s commercial plan is currently being developed, many of you may have seen the company’s trucks on the streets of Athens. The bulk of Straka’s sausages are distributed by the company’s fleet. Strakas produces Pelion sausages, but is distributed in organized retail areas in Volos, Athens and Thessaloniki. The company’s products are already available in the supermarket chains Sklavenitis, AB Vassilopoulos and ANEDIK Kritikos, but new collaborations with more chains are expected in early 2023 and even with two Cash & Carry chains. We decided to open a store for the new year, expanding the locations where our products can be found. We have also turned our attention to the Ho.Re.Ca. sector: We now sell in delicatessen stores, traditional product outlets and catering outlets. In the Ho.Re.Ca. segment, we emphasize the premium classic village sausage brand,” explains Giorgos Strakas to FOODReporter. Development of a codebook and self-production of electricity for 30% of needs“We have prepared many more surprises for 2023: New flavors and new sausage recipes are coming, as well as further development of a codebook based on the concept of a new ready-to-cook category that concerns freezing and the tasty “marriage” of sausage with dough. The products of this new category are all preservative-free”, adds Mr. Strakas. Strakas is the oldest meat industry in Greece and has now relaunched its products in renewed packaging with “fresh” promotional ideas. The company is extremely active on Instagram, as well as on other social media, and the difference is that the company produces this work in-house, with specialized employees. Η εταιρεία πρόσφατα ολοκλήρωσε μικρής κλίμακας φωτοβολταϊκό έργο για ιδιοπαραγωγή, που καλύπτει το 30% της απαιτούμενης ενέργειας του εργοστασίου στο Βόλο.
Strakas sausages Volos
The Strakas family is the only family out of the dozens of sausage makers that existed in the past in Stagiates, Volos, and that has been carrying on the tradition of Pelion sausage since 1850.According to traditions and the writings of historian Yannis Kordatos, from 1750 to 1850 in Stagiates there was a significant domestic sausage production activity with a significant turnover.The sausage makers of Stagiakion at the time knew the secrets of sausage production well and passed them down from father to son in a guild, so that the knowledge of the work never left the village. To buy the best animals, they traveled to the livestock markets of Macedonia and Thessaly to choose buffaloes. At that time, plowing in the plains was done with buffaloes, calves, pigs and sheep and goats, which were transported by rail to Volos and from there through the paths to the village. The Strakas family had enviable export activities since 1850 and sent Pelion sausages in wooden crates to be sold in Alexandria and European countries.Nikos Strakas, today – the fifth generation of Strakas – dedicated to the art of sausage making, produces various types of sausages that are most suitable for spetzofai, the signature dish of Pelion.More specifically, his sausages come in the following types: mixed pork and beef, mixed beef and pork with sheep intestine, spicy beef sausages with beef intestine, pork with leek and orange, and finally the strakakia, 5 small sausages on a straw for the kids.Nikos, a man of great heart, is at his gas station-workshop at 12A Agiou Dimitriou Street, in Agia Dimitriada, all day long, making sausages, developing ideas – the last one that came to fruition was his collaboration with AB Vassilopoulos – and welcoming his customers by treating them to tsipouro and his new experiments – I was treated to a delicious pastroumas.Next door, his wife serves the customers of the gas station with their own products, but she also promotes local products such as cheeses, honey, tsipoura, trachanades, pasta, halva and of course my favorite tsitsiravla (local pickled vegetables). I promise you that a walk in Strakas will be good for you, because among other things, you will also get a small manual with recipes for delicious Pelion dishes, such as spenzofai, giants, baked potatoes and trachanades, all with Straka sausages!
The everyday – Local delicacies
The history of Straka sausages is inextricably linked to the tradition and culinary heritage of Pelion. According to historian Yannis Kordatos, the art of sausage making in Stagiates, Pelion has its roots as early as the period of Turkish rule. The sausage makers of Stagiates were famous for their art, preserving and transmitting from generation to generation the secrets of making authentic Pelion sausages. The Strakas family has a deep tradition in the sausage industry, having produced sausages since 1850 in Stagiates and since 1948 in the heart of Volos. Today, the business is continued with passion and respect for tradition by Nikos Strakas, a fifth generation producer. In his modern but completely traditional workshop, sausage manufacturing meets innovation, while maintaining the authentic taste and natural maturation process. Strakas village sausage is a tribute to the ancestors who developed the art of sausage making. It is prepared in small quantities and stands out for the secret blend of spices that gives it its unique flavor. Its production follows authentic methods, as it is not subjected to heat treatment, but is dried naturally in the sun, just as it was done in the old days. The pork intestines used, combined with the natural maturation process, give the product a rich, full flavor that stands out. One of the most unique creations of the Strakas family is the mixed sausage with Greek beef and pork. The meat comes from selected producers of Katerini, Dimini, Sesklos and Larissa, ensuring the highest possible quality. This sausage is ideal for the traditional Pelio spenzofai, one of the most beloved dishes of the Volos people.