Greek snail producer weathers Covid-19 crisis

On the outskirts of Larissa, central Greece, a company called Mediterranean Escargots specializes in breeding and trading in white snails. 

Its main markets are Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and most recently China.

Mediterranean Escargots has invested more than 20 years of innovative research and development in raising white snails (Cornu aspersum) solely with Greek organic foods and herbs, free of any chemicals or antibiotics.

The company has managed to maintain the production of snails of high gastronomic value even against the backdrop of a decade-long financial crisis followed by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, founder and Chief Executive Officer Athanasios Gogas told Xinhua.

A biologist by training, Gogas worked at a prestigious agricultural research and development institute in France before launching Mediterranean Escargots in Greece in 1997.

Today, the company employs 40 people full-time and many more on short-term contracts.

It produces 70-100 tons of snails a year – plus 15 tons of caviar in 2020. The company’s best-known product is undoubtedly the white snail.

“It is a unique kind of snail which differentiates us from our competitors,” he said. White snails stand out due to their whitish shell and light-colored tasty meat with high levels of protein and collagen.

The company strictly abides by the animal welfare code of practice for breeding.

[Xinhua]