Enterprise Europe Network helps Greek textiles firm push the boundaries of innovation
In this episode of Business Planet, we speak to the co-founders of Pepper Vally, an innovative textiles company near Athens, which is reaping the rewards of an EU-funded support network helping SMEs step up to the next level and expand abroad.
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00:00 Growing a business abroad is exciting but potentially risky.
00:05 Enterprise Europe Network helped us to navigate this new area
00:13 in Europe and internationally,
00:16 because this is very dangerous for a small company to do it alone.
00:22 This is very important for us, how you manage to go out of the crowd.
00:28 I went to a harness near Athens to meet Aliki Goritsa and Spiros Fragos.
00:36 Both textile engineers, they're passionate about fabric and clothes
00:40 and founded Pepper Valley in 2011.
00:43 Hello and welcome to Business Planet.
00:46 This Greek textiles company uses traditional natural materials
00:51 combined with cutting edge technology to create smart clothing.
00:55 Let's find out more.
00:58 Aliki and Spiros' vision is to design and manufacture high quality sustainable garments
01:07 and they're constantly innovating to make their ideas a reality.
01:11 Like swimwear that uses cotton instead of lycra or nylon.
01:15 We try to make innovation that is useful for the wearer in terms of skin safety,
01:25 for the environment, because every time you go in the sea or you wash your clothes,
01:32 you have microplastics.
01:34 And the innovation here is that we have a knit pattern that has holes
01:39 and it is a 3D structure where the air can circulate
01:44 and this makes the clothes dry easier.
01:48 Aliki and Spiros are ambitious and teamed up with the EU-funded Enterprise Europe Network,
01:55 the world's largest support network for small and medium-sized businesses
01:59 with international ambitions to produce smart clothing prototypes
02:04 that monitor biometric measurements.
02:07 Oh yeah, so I can see my heart right there.
02:11 Yes, you can see the electrocardiogram here.
02:14 And here you can see your heart rate, you can see the temperature.
02:18 So, I'm alive?
02:20 They worked with the Enterprise Europe Network to develop the Feel More knitwear collection
02:26 and pinpoint the right international partners.
02:29 They help us to navigate in this new field for us
02:34 and also find the right opportunities to go on
02:38 and effectively promote all our research in other businesses,
02:43 in other European countries and also universities to collaborate with.
02:50 The Enterprise Europe Network celebrates its 15th anniversary this year.
02:56 Over this time they've helped some 4.2 million small businesses across Europe.
03:02 From a sweet company in Latvia
03:05 to this Czech firm that developed a beehive that uses the heat of the sun to kill off harmful mites.
03:12 In Greece, the network supported more than 3,000 SMEs between 2022 and 2023.
03:22 To find out more about how it works, I met with Mina Palicki
03:28 from the Athens Chamber of Small and Medium Industries,
03:31 a member of Enterprise Europe Network since 2008.
03:35 We support thousands of companies from the textiles and fashion industry.
03:42 What we're looking for is to find companies that produce something special, innovative,
03:48 something that could stand out internationally because the competition is fierce.
03:54 Pepper Valley is a company that combines all those traits that make her stand out.
04:01 Mina and her colleagues first meet with a potential new member company
04:06 to decide on the next steps and draw up an action plan.
04:10 The network then provides help with finding funding,
04:13 identifying the opportunities of the single market.
04:17 But also helps companies understand the laws and regulations in other countries
04:23 and how to choose the right international collaborator.
04:26 Once a company comes to us and says,
04:29 "I have found a partner, but I'm not sure whether it's the correct partner or not,"
04:33 the network has been very helpful in that
04:36 because we do have a reliable contact somewhere else where we can ask.
04:41 The network brings together international expertise and local contacts
04:48 so businesses can get the big picture and step up another level.
04:52 See you next time on Business Planet.
04:54 [Music]