Nikos Karamouzis and the SMERC Foundation (SMERemediumCap) control approximately 66% of the historical EPSA soft drink industry. In fact, according to what he stated in Kathimerini, the fund will gradually invest up to 8 million euros in EPSA with an increase in capital to develop the company, with Mr. Karamouzis saying that a new era is beginning for the company. Volio Company. The Zautou brothers, who until yesterday were the main shareholders of EPSA, will remain minority shareholders of the company. The participation of Nikos Karamouzis in the share capital of EPSA came about through the creation of a joint company with the Tsautou family. This is the company “Agria Emporiki”, the announcement of which was registered yesterday in the General Commercial Register (GEMI). The share capital of the new company is 5.21 million euros, SMERC participates in it with a share of 65.22%, Michalis Tsautos and Panayota Tsautou own 14.15%, and Ms. Ivi Anastasia Moskakhlaidi owns 6.48%. Mr. Konstantinos Karafotakis of SMERC has been appointed President and CEO of the new company, while the remaining board members consist of Mr. Nikos Karamouzis, Mr. Michalis Tsautos, Ms. Panagiot Tsautou and Mr. Nikos Zorbas, also from SMERC. .

This is the third investment by Nikos Karamouzis in a food and beverage company.

The history of EPSA begins in 1922, when brothers Ioannis and Georgios Kosmadopoulos, silversmiths from Zagora, owners of a bank, bought land in Agria Volos to operate refrigerators for ice production and storage of fruits and vegetables. In 1924 Kosmadopoulos founded the Agrias Volos Refrigerator Company and the company’s factory was opened by Eleftherios Venizelos. At the same time, visionary Ioannis Kosmadopoulos, observing the overproduction of lemons in the area, the increase in the number of lemonade shops, as well as the distribution of traditional lemonade by itinerant Malaysian pedlars, sets the goal of creating a factory for the production of soft drinks and juices. For this reason, he invites an excellent chemical engineer from Germany, Otto, who owns the recipe for the well-known EPSA lemonade. In 1936, the bank of Kosmadopoulos went bankrupt and the Agria Volos Refrigeration Company was taken over by the National Bank. In 1969, the National Bank accepted the offer of Nikos Cautu and the Moskakhlaidis brothers to buy EPSA, and from that moment a great development of the company began, which gradually introduced new products.

In 2021, its turnover was 9.16 million euros, while the company has accumulated losses of 5.32 million euros.

It should be noted that this is the third investment of the SMERC fund in the food and beverage industry. Preceded by investments in the legume company Arose and the fresh fruit export company Krop.