EAS Naxos: A driving force of development

Naxos is the largest island of the Cyclades, the one with the largest agricultural production. Founded by a small number of primary agricultural cooperatives to serve their members and to process into cheese making small quantities of milk, the history of the Union begins in 1926. Over the years, EAS saw an impressive increase in both the number of its agricultural cooperatives-members and its activities.

In 1955, some island farmers wanted to make their own cheese. Therefore, they collected their milk, EAS provided them with the know-how, and Naxos Graviera was born. This delicious cheese won over consumers and production was growing, therefore, in 1996, EAS Naxos proceeded to certify it as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) product.

In the meantime, in lowland Naxos, EAS had built a modern Milk Processing Unit, which has been renovated and expanded, and has become a state-of-the-art, Swiss-style cheese factory, using a subsidy from the Rural Development Program, under the supervision of the Agricultural University of Athens. As for its future plans, EAS is currently building a second cheese factory, in mountainous Naxos, to produce another delicious PDO Cheese, Arseniko Naxou.

EAS Naxos has also invested in another great product of Naxos, the Naxos Potato. To be noted that the Cooperative has built, with their own funds, a certified packaging plant and registered the Naxos Potato as a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) product.

In the words of EAS Naxos’ president, Dimitris Kapounis, the Cooperative has become a driving force of development for the agricultural world and the economy of Naxos in general, committed to quality and traditional values.

It also actively stands by the side of its producers, who find themselves under the weight of increased production costs and whom the State must support.

EAS Naxos distributes its products all over Greece, while winning several distinctions and awards, the top ones being the Golden Taste Award in Greece and the 2 Stars in the Superior Taste Competition at the iTQi Institute in Brussels.