The Rhodes-based manufacturer VAP – Pantelis Kougios S.A. is investing €7.63m to double its production capacity. The new investment plan will diversify the production activities of its existing brewery at Tsairi – Agia Varvara in Rhodes, adding production of bottled natural mineral water.
With a total eligible cost of €7,627,213, the project has been approved under the “Manufacturing – Supply Chain” scheme of development law 4887/2022, securing aid of €4,576,327, equivalent to 60% of the investment and to be granted entirely as a tax exemption.
The expansion of production capacity is expected to strengthen VAP’s competitive position in the Rhodes market and on neighbouring islands, where high levels of tourism drive demand, particularly during the summer months.
At the same time, making use of existing industrial infrastructure creates scope for economies of scale and synergies in production and distribution, in a market where transport costs are a significant factor in determining final prices.
VAP’s history began in Rhodes in 1967, when Pantelis Kougios founded a small sole proprietorship on Kapodistriou Street. Its partnership with PepsiCo was a milestone in the company’s growth, and in 1991 it moved to modern facilities in Agia Varvara, Koskinou.
In the years that followed, it expanded into the production of soft drinks, juices and beer, building a diversified product portfolio that includes VAP Fresh juices and Zythos VAP beer.
It entered the bottled water market in 1996 with natural mineral Apollonio, drawing on the aquifer in the Tsairi area. Carbonated water production followed in 2002; a new Apollonio bottling plant came into operation in 2004; and table water Aqua Vita was added in 2005.
Three decades after first entering the sector, VAP is making a new investment focused on increasing its production capacity.