meet Agrozimi

Today’s Agrozimi is the result of three generations of hard work and commitment to quality.  In 1969 Yiorgos Martavaltzoglou, a refugee from Asia Minor, started a bakery in his village of Aravissós, in the Greek province of Macedonia.  His children, wanting to guarantee the quality of the flour they used, started a mill in 1974 and gradually expanded it to produce traditional pasta, like hilopítesand trahaná.By 2010, the third generation of the Martavaltzoglou family moved the business to a modern new production facility, continuing to produce the traditional flavors while adding new ones, like spelt, farro and squid ink.

We met brothers Kostas and Yiorgos in the spring of 2018, when they invited us to visit their site (read all about that visit in our Zelos Blog). There, they proudly pointed out the Italian-imported machinery, the pasteurized fresh eggs and milk (not powdered!) that they insisted on still using, as their father had…and we marveled at the spotlessly clean production lines and offices, while we basked in the scent of freshly made kritharáki.  It was truly impressive that in Greece’s difficult economic climate, this family-run business has managed to thrive well into a third generation.

The reason for that clearly lies in the quality of their products. An Agrozimi pack is not your typical mass-produced pasta, and has a unique flavor and texture that is a testament to the Martavaltzoglou family’s commitment to quality. Kostas and Yiorgos continue to use Arávissos’ famous water and still buy grain from producers with whom their family has nurtured 40-year relationships. They have intentionally built their facility with high ceilings and plenty of open space to allow for natural drying chambers, avoiding high-speed drying ovens. 

Zelos is proud to bring Agrozimi’s traditional products to the US and help the Martavaltzoglou family thrive for a fourth generation. 

Agrozimi is HACCP & ISO 22000 certified as meeting international food safety management standards.