24-year-old Jondo Tsertsvadze from the Gori municipality makes pickled garlic stems, which are an unfamiliar gastronomic experience for many. The young man who transformed his family’s tradition of making traditional marinades into a business was often called the king of pickles. With the support of the Open Society Georgia Foundation, the “King of Pickles”, which has already become a brand, is now available to everyone.
Jondo’s family would make pickles of various vegetables at home for personal consumption. As they were engaged in agriculture, they grew the necessary raw materials themselves. The creative process led to the idea to pickle garlic stems, which, in fact, means adding nutritional value to the unused product – this is a responsible business that echoes the goals of sustainable development. After participating in several public events and receiving compliments there, Jondo decided to increase production, although he had neither the knowledge nor the ability to do so. At this crucial stage, emerged a project of the European Union, implemented by the Open Society Georgia Foundation and the United Nations Association of Georgia. This project enabled Jondo to improve the necessary skills and launch the production. Through local and off-site trainings, an experienced consultant helped him to formulate the business idea.
“This project gave me the most important thing – self-confidence. Belief that I can be an entrepreneur. If it were not for the sharing of competent experience and financial support, I would not have been able to launch production so quickly. I already have my own brand, my own enterprise with equipment that meets the standards, and it was this support that accelerated the process,” notes Jondo, who had the opportunity to go through a program specifically tailored to his needs, receive ad-hoc recommendations from a business trainer for his startup, and together determine potential needs or obstacles, choose the right audience and sales channels. The increased sales potential allowed Jondo to hire assistants and cooks.
There are big plans ahead. “King of Pickles” is now sold online, although it is already planned to sell it both in Tbilisi and Gori groceries. Jondo is also thinking about going international.
