Agriculture step by step: From a hectare of blackberries to a 6 million euro business, in just 26 years

At 26 years old, Ionel Burtea has his own business of 6 million euros, through which he brings Romanian forest fruits directly to the shelves of large retailers, such as Mega Image, Carrefour or Metro.

Abund Berry, in his name, was born right on the benches of the faculty, in the form of a bachelor's thesis, attracted European funds and aims for the highest possible objectives in the field of agriculture, reflecting exactly the aspirations of the young entrepreneur, who have long gone beyond the borders the country.

From 21 years until now, his company has attracted investments of 2 million euros through European projects, having 20 ha cultivated with blackberries, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries, a 1,000 sqm warehouse in Buftea and 5 supermarket chains in which Abund Berry fruits and vegetables are distributed, which it produces in its own greenhouses, but also collects from over 30 other farmers in Romania.

In the short term, Ionel Burtea aims to complete the strawberry greenhouse, a project accessed on Submeasure 4.1a, worth 1.4 million euros including VAT.

In the long term, its vision is intertwined with that of the major global players in agricultural production.

It all started with a book

What made him embark on this ambitious path at such a young age? Everything started from childhood, Ionel Burtea tells spotmedia.ro

"I had a chance. I received Robert Kiyosaki's book. I was 12 years old. The book was called the Money Quadrant and it divided activities into categories. What does freelancer, employer, investor and employee mean. I think here was that moment of why ," he recalls.

But the field of agriculture was not a revelation, he admits, but an opportunity.

"We had our grandparents' land, our parents worked it, and we said let's change a bit the part of large crops, cereals, let's go for something niche - because in the beginning it really was a niche. It's been six years since I planted the first hectare. There were no plantations, there was not so much information, there was no market. Six years ago, I couldn't find forest fruits from Romania on the shelves at the supermarket . Most of them were imported and strawberries. That's it. Otherwise, blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries, sea buckthorn did not exist", says Ionel Burtea.

"(...) I was then in my last year of college at ASE and I made the decision to submit a project on AFIR on 4.1a. It took almost a year and a half for his approval. Later we submitted five more projects, in implementation and completed, but... it took all our energy and patience not to give up. That every day you encounter a problem ", admits the young man.

Talking about the story of his business, he recalls how, step by step , he built a real treasure.

"We started with the land, with one hectare of blackberries in the first stage, then we expanded to seven hectares of blackberries the following year. We started working with Carrefour Târgu Jiu as a first client. In 2018 we started with Carrefour across the network. In 2020 we started with strawberries, in 2021 with blueberries and very little with raspberries. This year I worked the raspberry part the most," he says.

"Everything that means consumption has increased from year to year. We believe that in 2022 we will have an increase of over 40% on the fruit side", states Ionel Burtea.

What does this mean concretely, in terms of numbers? It means that the financial year 2022 has every chance to end with a turnover of 8 million euros , above expectations.

"Our expectations were 5 million. We exceeded the sales target for this year. Next year we expect to reach 10 million sales and in 2024-2025 to close with 20 million , to stay here constantly, to increase the market. We see the consumer market somewhere at 100 million, of which 20% only in this niche of forest fruits. That in the end it's a niche," he admits.

The main problem would be, however, that Romanians still haven't gotten to consume even a few hundred grams of forest fruits daily. But this specific Romanian minus has become the challenge it has taken on, namely educating the public both through its own example (biodegradable packaging, eco-friendly approach) and through campaigns that reach consumers directly.

Moreover, the young man set out to take frozen Romanian berries to the Nordic countries, without being intimidated by the food crisis that is scaring the whole world.

"I say there is no food crisis. And there won't be a food crisis. There will be a crisis in the price of production. We are seeing growth across the chain. We had inflation in everything that means packaging, current, storage, logistics, everything increased. Here is the problem. A problem, effectively, of the cost of production and its impact on the shelf price", he says.

"You can't do it without big investments"

The real challenge, however, for farmers is that of climate change.

"(...) for us, the problem was heat, very high temperatures for two or three weeks. We had over 50 degrees in the fruit and that kind of messed up our crops. These are the real challenges," he says.

However, he found a solution for this problem as well. He wants to submit a project to the European Commission to build protected spaces.

"We now on Horizon want to build the area of ​​protected spaces in a vertical system, to eliminate external factors as a risk factor and to have control over everything that means humidity, temperature", explains Ionel Burtea.

The investment amounts to around 20 million euros on 7 hectares. At the European level, there are already three such long-term projects.

"At the European Commission, it is very difficult for start-ups from Romania to win projects, but we aim for the maximum level. There is no other way than through large investments", he also says, emphasizing that without the newest and most expensive technologies you run the risk that when you reach the implementation phase of the project (in 4-5 years), the solution you initially resorted to to be already obsolete.

Youth, an AS up your sleeve

He learned all these things "on his own skin", at only 26 years old, but youth is also his asset in these turbulent times, when your wings can be easily clipped if you analyze too much the risks of a grand plan. In his case, the model he is following is none other than the number 1 in the market.

"Globally, they are the big players, even number 1 is the one I look at with passion and admiration. And there are those who have plantations everywhere in different climatic zones, they close one season, start another. Currently Argentina, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa, Morocco, Spain, Netherlands, Germany. They are present in more than 70 countries and that also attracts a market. They are the benchmark in this industry," he says.

Meanwhile, doing business in agriculture in Romania means a lot of adrenaline for Ionel Burtea .

"It is a field where no day is the same as another. Maybe there are experiences that repeat themselves from season to season, but if you want and do everything the chain means from production to processing and then to sale and to retail, there is no routine," says the young man.

And for young people who dream of following in his footsteps, he has only one piece of advice: "Start step-by-step".

"Don't be disappointed after a year or two of drought, problems, pests. He should only look as a whole, at the big picture , to see the long-term projection", advises the young entrepreneur.

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