Heritage Farms
Heritage Farms is one of the first and largest organic vegetables farms of high capacity in Romania supplying retailers at a national level. Heritage Farms plans to expand its operations into additional Roma communities through the purchase of Heritage Ranch. It will begin free-range pork and chicken production, and eventually eggs, to round out their organic product line.
Heritage Farms was born out of the prayers of two graduates of Emanuel University in Oradea: Cristian, a theology graduate and bi-vocational pastor (working his family farm), and Ioan, an energetic business graduate who had been involved in several entrepreneurial ventures and who now serves as Dean of the Emanuel Business School.
Together with the team around them, they envisioned care for the Roma people and bi-vocational revenue for missionaries, pastors, and church leaders who serve in these impoverished rural areas.
Over 70% of the vegetables in Romanian grocery stores are imported. As a result, prices are very high compared to the purchasing power of the population. The demand for organic produce is steadily increasing and in short supply. Heritage Farms was started as one of the first high-capacity organic vegetable farms in Romania. In 2017 Heritage Farms was invited to start supplying organic vegetables to retailers at a national level with the following principles:
Romanian grown vegetables/ fruits to meet the demand for locally grown/not imported produce
Organically grown without chemicals or pesticides. A healthy alternative to mass commercial farming
Reasonable prices, affordable to the average consumer
In 2019 Heritage Farms signed a contract to be the primary supplier of organic products to Auchan, one of the top grocery chains in Romania, with over thirty stores across the country. Heritage Farms is expanding land, infrastructure and a more diversified range of products to meet the demands of Auchan and other large retailers with a long-range plan to export to neighboring countries.
Heritage Farms has established a cooperative to help smaller producers with packaging, logistics, branding, marketing, and sales. The cooperative gives Heritage Farms’ stronger negotiating power, bringing additional revenue while strengthening its brand image at a national level.
Heritage Farms sees the tremendous potential of the organic market in Romania. Heritage Farms is currently the largest organic vegetable farm in the country with more than sixty 10M x 40M greenhouses on fifteen hectares of land at its various locations.
