A short trip to Bulgaria

It is not possible to just drop by the Bulgaria stand. Apart from the versatile products such as Merlot and Aronia juice, rose and lavender oil, salami, nut oil and rosehip flour, the people at the stands have some stories to tell.

For example, there is Slavi Trifonov from Pesnopoy, who has been exhibiting wine made from aronia berries, as well as fruit juices, at the International Green Week since 1990. "Our regular customers come to visit us at our stand every year, and sometimes more than once," Trifonov tells us. After Green Week, he stays in Berlin until FRUIT LOGISTICA. "After that, it's back to work in the field and in the wine cellar, and then it's already Christmas again, and all we do is eat and drink," he says with a laugh. "Wine is one of the best drinks there is".

Diagonally across the street, Ivelina Ivanova stands spraying rose water on interested fairgoers. Her family has been growing Damascene roses and lavender for more than 20 years. The plantations are located in the town of Gurkovo in the Rose Valley in Bulgaria. At the booth, there is shower gel, shampoo and 100 percent pure rose extract of the Krimas brand. "It takes three to five tons of roses to make one liter of it," explains Ivelina's uncle, producer Petar Simeonov. On his smartphone, he shows how the rose petals are picked by hand on the plantation not far from his home. Then he searches further and presents a video showing the process of distillation, just two kilometers from the plantations. "Our rose water has a high content of rose oil - without being extracted," Petar Simeonov explains. "It's important to us that all our customers receive the best products to maintain the health and appearance of their skin."

Health is also the topic at the Balevski & Kirov booth. Here, everything revolves around rose hips. Fair visitors can buy cookies made from rosehip flour, optionally with the addition of chokeberry or turmeric. There is also rosehip jam, dried rosehip tea, nutritional supplements and juice made from pure rosehip, rosehip with date or apple juice, and facial oil with the additions of yarrow and strawflower. Balevski & Kirov is a small boutique company specializing in processing organic rose hips to produce rose hip oil, supplements and flours for a healthy diet. The products will be available in the online store from February.

Visitors to the fair can experience Bulgaria in all its variations in Hall 11.2.