It was in 1925 when the grandfather Apostolos Papadopoulos and his family, refugees from the Black Sea area, came to Xanthi and launched the first butcher store. 

The second generation of owners, the six children of grandfather Apostolos and grandmother Despina, continued and expanded the family business and in 1939, they moved the family butcher store to the Municipal Market of Xanthi. 

Nowadays, the third generation of owners continues to develop the family business into a modern and vertically integrated company, one of the very few in Greece with such an organization and operation model. 

A vertically integrated company

In the privately owned Production Park of 55.000 square meters located in Lamprino, Xanthi, are operating the business units of farming, slaughterhouse, meat processing, cured meats and meat products production unit, animal co-products and by-products processing unit, rendering services and by-products processing unit, while the butcher store has been continuously operating since 1939 in the Municipal Market of Xanthi. 

In 2018, after obtaining the relevant certification by Eurocert, the company joined the Initiative and its selected products are labeled with ELLA-DIKA MAS sign.  

Apostolos Papadopoulos Meat Company is included in the national list of production units and several young scientists choose it every year to carry out their internship. 

The Company goes green

In the company’s Production Park:

• Systematic separation of materials for recycling is conducted, which are forwarded to the cooperating recycling company. 
• Electricity is generated by photovoltaic systems installed in a park buildings, covering part of the company’s needs. 
• Biogas is produced from processing of the liquid residues of the rendering process and it can be converted into electricity, capable of meeting the company needs, 

While the butcher store has replaced all disposable plastic bags with others from biodegradable corn starch. 

The innovative management of liquid waste was awarded in 2017 with the Oikopolis Environmental Awareness Award and in 2018 with the Environmental Award. 

The present and the future 

With continuous investments in operational, organizational and administrative modernization the company aims at:

• Offering on the market branded, safe and qualitative products and services 
• Developing the Greek meat market 
• Expanding the distribution channels
• Creating and developing healthy and beneficial to all relationships, with employees, customers, clients,  suppliers, partners and the wider productive, business, scientific, educational and local community. 

Learn about our Corporate Social Responsibility Policy.

Livestock trade, Panagiotis & Giorgos Papadopoulos, second owners generation (family archive)

Giorgos Papadopoulos of the second owners generation at the butcher store the Municipal Market of Xanthi (family archive)

1990s, Giorgos Papadopoulos of the second owners generation at the butcher store in the Municipal Market of Xanthi (family archive)

George Papadopoulos of the second owners generation owner at the butcher store in the Municipal Market of Xanthi (family archive)