"The fact that their logistics were already set up, made it a lot easier to venture into other products." shared Terje.
The company does not own any of the growing areas and Terje said that this was a strategic decision to exclude that part of the value chain. Most of the products, especially the herbs, are grown in the greenhouses, with the exception of a few different types of vegetables.
Mimea offers 22 different types of herbs to the Norwegian market, but the most popular remains the traditional herbs like rosemary, basil and chives. Demand for the products out of Africa is steady, despite there being a large amount of domestic production during the summer.
The herbs are cut and packaged on location and received in Norway within 2-3 days, with a shelf life of up to 14 days if kept cool.
Terje did report that the last few months has been difficult for Ethiopian herb growers due to unusually low temperatures which have been around the freezing point, causing restricted supplies. He said that their situation has been similar to what is going on in the South of Europe.
Traditionally, fresh herbs are offered in pots for Norwegian consumers, but Mimea was one of the few to start offering pre-cut small quantity consumer packaging, which has proven very popular.
"The pre-cut smaller packaging was a market that hadn't been explored. Consumers like it because it is easier to bring back from the shop, it creates less waste and is easier to use."
High quality product and the production in Africa is definitely as good as herbs produced in Europe. I think that, after hearing customer feedback, what sets our herbs apart is better taste and flavour.