Meet Giorgios Karayannis of Kolossos in River North

Today we’d like to introduce you to Giorgios Karayannis.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born and raised across the lake in Michigan City, Indiana, first generation from immigrant Greek parents. I spent my summers in Greece and school season stateside, the best of both worlds. Ever since I was in diapers, I can recall the inside walls of a restaurant. A place where we would call our second home, a place where I learned to appreciate food and hospitality. By the age of 11 or so, I looked forward to working in our family’s several restaurants. Since, I held many positions in front of house and back of house, short of being a chef and sommelier.

Upon completion of High School, I spent a short time in Greece to experience life there and in quest of finding one’s self. Thereafter, I returned and began my studies at Indiana University. During that time, I solidified a goal to create a business involving Greece. I worked in my family’s establishments since a young age, throughout college, and until I co-founded Kolossos.

In December of 2010, a deep conversation occurred with our now co-founder, Edward Billys. Both Greek-Americans, Edward and I share a prideful appreciation for Greece and her incredible agricultural products. Fulfilling our entrepreneurial spirit, along with desire to promote Greece during the recent difficult economic times, we created Kolossos in early 2011. We quickly identified our direction and core ideologies with a focus on integrity, quality, and how to build a great lifestyle brand. We continued to develop a business plan for more than a year and half, finally launching our first products in September of 2012. Greek Extra Virgin olive oils were our first product lines and we cut our teeth in the food service side by knocking on the doors of restaurants in Chicago, Indiana, and Southwest Michigan. By February 2015, our EVOO’s reached the grocery retail market. Rapidly gaining traction in the trade, we demanded ourselves to elevate our brand and develop new products. In late, 2016, we launched 3 Organic Greek wine vinegars. Currently, our products are placed in over 1,800 stores nationwide, offered with multiple online partners, and several highly awarded restaurants.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Personally, having the entrepreneurial spirit and enthusiasm is the only easy part. The thrill of embarking on a new adventure, the potential for success or failure, and implementing your passion into a business strategy is a challenge almost every day. Real obstacles are such as learning that you will be faced with adversity, you will need patience and flexibility. Also, you may surrender many aspects of your life, even your health could be jeopardized as mine was in early 2013. I was bed ridden for almost 2 months with a severe physical ailment. At the critical moment where you should be pounding the pavement to offer your products, I was laid up and conducting sales presentations from a mattress. The ill-timed event and serious limitations, could have ended Kolossos and we somehow remained resilient. If I didn’t have the support from my parents, sister, and friends, I would not have the opportunity to pursue one of my many goals in life.

Undoubtedly, inventing a product is also somewhat simple. Attracting the first time consumer and develop customer loyalty is the struggle. In addition, learning the trade in its entirety, which is a learning curve at times. It is best to be proactive, not reactionary in this business. We combat factors such as market/industry conditions, consumer behavior, and lack of consumer/retailer education for our category. More importantly, adapting to the grocery retailers’ or even your distributor’s different dynamic business models in order to maintain competitiveness. Furthermore, I do not believe we are alone in the fact that any business does not have capital battles. It requires you to maintain plentiful resources to sustain the known and unforeseen economic hardships you may endure along the way. Remain tenacious and put in hard work, and I believe there will be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Kolossos – what should we know?
Kolossos is a Greek food product company and health lifestyle brand. We identify our core ideologies with a focus on integrity, quality, and innovation. As of now, we produce 2 premium Greek Extra Virgin olive oils and 3 Greek Organic wine vinegars. All of our lines have beautiful flavor nuances and characteristics that can be utilized as culinary ingredients and contain a wealth of health properties. Our products are versatile, and applied in various cooking methods such as baking, cooking, finishing, desserts and cocktails. Our high standards are the secret to our brand.

Kolossos EVOO’s have been featured in Instyle, Martha Stewart Living magazine, and The Wall Street Journal. Also, we are partnered with Michelin star chefs and highly awarded restaurants in Chicago and throughout the country. On a prideful note, would like to share a little anecdote. We received a heartfelt letter from a customer who wished to thank those companies products for her 84th birthday who have added quality and pleasure to her life the past few years; “Kolossos was first on my list,” and “have taken our secret traditional recipes and incorporated your products, Kolossos gives this old favorite an unique flavor and taken it to a whole new level.” It is a great honor to receive validation from such respected figures, customers and publications.

In addition, we have won several awards for global packaging design, including The Clio awards (known as the Oscars for packaging design). These were awarded alongside brands such as Nike, Burger King, Diageo, and General Mills.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
It is hard to boil it down to a few factors, there is long list that is crucial to your goal. Put in hard work, never underestimate it. Have passion, find happiness and have fun every day. Take a risk, do not let fear or naysayers prevent you. Always educate yourself, have humility, contribute to your community, and enrich people’s lives. Ultimately, if we did not produce a great product, Kolossos would be expired by now.

Pricing:

• Kolossos Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oils -$16.99-19.99
• Kolossos Greek Organic Wine Vinegars – $6.99-$10.99

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kolossos.co
• Phone: 312-952-6991
• Email: giorgios@kolossos.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kolossoslife
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kolossoslife
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/KolossosLife

Image Credit:
Emily Madigan for Dose Market
Petya Shalamanova for Dose Market
Katie Jefferson/AlwaysHungryChi
James Caufield

Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.