Kostis is a leading catering company that, since its founding, has established itself as a reliable partner in organizing events of all sizes. Specializing in food service, Kostis offers a wide variety of dishes adapted to any customer preference or requirement. The company actively implements innovative approaches to service and product quality, allowing it to maintain a leading position in the catering market.
Among Kostis’ significant achievements is winning the prestigious “Catering of the Year” award, confirming its high level of service and quality. “Our goal is to make every event unforgettable, offering not only delicious food but also excellent service,” company representatives emphasize. In this issue of MosFocus magazine, we look at the journey of overcoming serious challenges—a path that has made the company stronger and more resilient.
Until 2020, Kostis’ business was built on the perfection of the moment. It was a whole universe where every waiter was almost an actor, every canapé a little work of art, and the perfect gala dinner in a mansion the culmination of months of preparation. Our team lived to the rhythm of events: cocktail parties for hundreds on business center rooftops, exquisite banquets, presentations where food was part of the show and atmosphere was a carefully crafted script. We took pride in the details: the crunch of the perfect bruschetta, the perfectly calibrated temperature of a hot dish, the shine of glasses ready for the first toast. This was our comfort zone, our passion, our life. We believed it would always be this way. We didn’t just feed guests—we created memories.
But then the world stopped.
When Silence Falls
In the spring of 2020, our universe froze. Events were canceled, phones went silent, empty warehouses became monuments to our past victories. All our expertise, all our passion for creating unique experiences, was suddenly not needed. For the first time in nearly three decades, our core competency—catering for large and small celebrations—was irrelevant. The silence was deafening and frightening. Uncertainty hung in the air. We were a company that knew how to throw a party, but had no idea how to live in a world where parties were forbidden. Our team, used to rhythm, energy, and constant motion, faced a forced pause. This pause threatened to be the end.
We could have given up, waited for better times, or, like many, simply closed. But the story of Kostis is not about that. It’s about overcoming. About breaking out of the familiar when everything around you collapses. We gathered and asked ourselves one honest question: “What do we do best?” The answer was simple: “We create delicious, high-quality food.” Not just food, but a product we are proud of. Made with our history, our team, our reputation behind it.
But who needs an exquisite panna cotta or a complicated appetizer if there’s no occasion to serve it?
A Leap into the Unknown
And then, an idea came up—one that seemed crazy: to bring our cuisine to retail.
It was a huge leap. For us, specialists in a personalized approach and small-batch production, it was like learning to fly. Catering and retail are two different worlds. In catering, we cook for a single event; in retail, for thousands of customers every day. In catering, the emphasis is on presentation “here and now”; in retail, it’s on packaging and shelf life. Our team, used to elegant service and the nuances of haute cuisine, had to learn to work with mass production, logistics for supermarket shelves, and automated packaging.
We left the comfort zone that had been our home for decades. We gave up our usual canapés and finger foods to create what people need every day. That’s how our menu came to include simpler but equally high-quality items: ready-made salads, sandwiches, and desserts in individual packaging. We no longer created haute cuisine; we created a high standard of quality for everyday food.
New Rules of the Game
The transition wasn’t easy. Everything had to be rebuilt: from logistics to team psychology. We invested in process automation, packaging, and portioning equipment that could preserve the freshness and taste of our dishes. Every new box, every new sandwich, was a challenge for us. Our team, used to handcrafting, now worked with machines—but with the same meticulousness as when preparing a gala dinner. New suppliers, new sales channels, new labeling requirements—every day brought dozens of questions with no ready answers.
There were moments of doubt. When the first batch of products went to stores, we were as nervous as students before an exam. What if people didn’t get it? What if our standard of quality wasn’t visible through the plastic packaging? But we believed in our product. We knew that at the heart of it all was the same passion and principles as in 1993, when we first started. We didn’t want to just sell food—we wanted people opening our packages to feel the same quality and care as at our events.
A Victory That Made Us Stronger
And we succeeded. Our retail project didn’t just survive—it became a full-fledged, successful direction. People appreciated our approach. They saw that even in a simple sandwich, you could have restaurant-level quality, and that a ready-made salad could be as fresh as the banquet table. We proved to ourselves and everyone around us that we could adapt, that we could surpass ourselves.
When the pandemic began to subside and events returned to our lives, we were already a different company—stronger and more flexible. Now, we have two powerful directions: the same impeccable catering we love with all our hearts, and a successful retail business that proved our ability to grow and adapt. We no longer depend on just one direction, and our expertise has become broader and deeper. Today, these two directions not only exist side by side but also enrich each other. Retail has taught us efficiency and scaling, while catering continues to inspire creativity and uniqueness.
This is not just a business story. This is a story about people who refused to give up. About a team that, when facing the unknown, was able to overcome itself and reach a new level. About how the main value of Kostis is not just delicious food, but our ability to overcome any obstacle without losing our essence and quality.