“The challenge is not only to grow the best Microgreens, but also to get them to the customer in perfect condition." That's the vision of Todorovi Farm - and it's not just words.
The Bulgarian indoor facility grows and supplies microgreens. "When some German customers running restaurants in the ski resort of Bansko saw our products and tasted their quality, they asked us to deliver them not only to their Bulgarian restaurants, but also to their restaurants in Germany. They even offered to cover the transport costs, but at that time we did not have a trusted transport company to deliver our products within 24-30 hours. That is one of our basic rules, so we had to decline."
Yuliyan Todorov speaks proudly about Todorovi Farm and the Microgreens they grow. He and his wife, the head of Todorovi Farm, strictly monitor the work of their employees and the quality and taste of the products. "And the perfect appearance!," he adds. Grown underground in a multi-layer installation in South Bulgaria, near Greece, the products are bought by chefs of 3,4 and 5-star restaurants, as well as by various chains of Cash and Carry type stores, such as METRO Bulgaria and METRO Greece, something Yuliyan Todorov never expected to happen 13 years ago, when he started growing Microgreens for his personal health.
"Back then I could not find Microgreens in Europe so I started growing them myself by buying seeds from the USA. My friends wanted me to grow for them too. Some of them started using my Microgreens in their restaurants and others for their personal health. This is how the idea of creating a professional farm for Microgreens was born and the farm was started in about 3 months,“ Yuliyan says.
After expanding his own business, Yuliyan managed to join an association of eleven likeminded growers producing and supplying only the highest grade live Microgreens in Europe. "As an example, I can tell you that we use different spectra of light depending on the stage of growth and the type of Microgreens. We have found that this light system of cultivation improves the qualities of Microgreens many times over. For the cultivation, we use soil prepared according to a special recipe based on our specific standards."
The current range includes: Swiss Chard, Red Amarant, sweet corn, several radish, basil, broccoli, sunflower and mustard species, pink kale, aragula, red beets, pea, cress, red veined sorrel, kohlrabi, chia, nasturtium - and many more.
"We grow Microgreens in a fully controlled environment, strictly monitoring the quality of seeds, soil, water, humidity, light, temperature and air. That's why our Microgreens are 100% organic! Our know-how for growing premium Microgreens tested over the years has proven to work!,” Yuliyan continues.
"We do our best to grow and deliver first-class products and care a lot about the feedback from the chefs," says Yuliyan. "We do not strive to be the biggest ones, we want to be big enough to meet the needs of all our current and future customers seeking quality."
Limited deliveries
Todorovi Farm has customers not only in Bulgaria, but also in Greece, Romania, Serbia and others. "We have limited our delivery only to the countries close to Bulgaria, because we want our products to reach the end customer in perfect condition, so a delivery span longer than 24-30 hours is unacceptable to us."
After the closure of all restaurants due to Corona crisis, Farm Todorovi drastically reduced Microgreens production. In result of easing the measures, Ferma Todorovi resumed work at 30% of its capacity. "But currently our production is again filled to 95%, because a few days ago we started to fulfill orders of our colleagues, as some of them had to stop production for 14 days due to positive coronavirus employees. Fortunately, we have found a solution to the transport problems, thus ensuring that, despite the long distances, our products will reach customers in perfect condition. Our team wishes all our colleagues a speedy recovery both in terms of health and business!"
