This article series tells the stories of the 15 finalists selected in the BVB Arena program. BVB Arena is the flagship program of the Bucharest Stock Exchange dedicated to the development and promotion of the Romanian entrepreneurial environment. The program’s goal is to select and promote Romanian companies that have the greatest growth potential and high chances of becoming impactful players in the local and even regional economy. Nominations for the BVB Arena 2025 program are open until May 31.

The story of Abund Berry started in Țicleni, Gorj County, where 21-year-old economics student Ionel Burtea decided to launch a forest berry business in 2017. He made this step after careful market research, which identified problems with the availability of Romanian fruits in supermarkets, as well as the lack of a range of wines with unique and unconventional flavors.

"The passion for wine was the basis for launching the business in 2017. With an initial budget of EUR 20,000, we started cultivating blackberries on 1 hectare of land inherited from our grandfather, involving the whole family in the business. Over time, we have increased the area cultivated with blackberries, adding blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries. We currently manage a total area of 20 hectares, employ over 40 staff members, and have partnerships with all the major supermarket chains in the country, as well as collaborations with over 80 national and international farmers annually. We reached a turnover of EUR 12.3 million in 2024 and have investments and projects under implementation financed from our own sources or by accessing European funds of over EUR 2 million ", says Ionel Burtea, Founder & CEO of Abund Berry.

Company identity

Abund Berry is a Romanian brand with roots in Gorj, developed in Bucharest, and matured at a national and international level. It stands for fresh fruits and vegetables from Romania, sourced through partnerships that support the development and growth of local communities around local businesses. It also means fresh, quality products, imported and distributed nationally to supplement Romanians’ need for healthy eating.

“To ensure the supply of fruits and vegetables throughout the year, we work with farmers in Romania, but also with international farmers through the imports we have. We import from countries all over Europe but also from other continents, countries such as Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Bulgaria, Serbia, Turkey, Egypt, South Africa, Zimbabwe, China, India, Ecuador, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, Mexico, America, etc. We also export blueberries when they are in season in Romania from our national production to Spain, Bulgaria, Serbia and Poland and we want to end up exporting much more quantities of blueberries and strawberries and expanding into the markets of other countries, thus increasing our export coverage area,” explains Ionel Burtea, Founder & CEO of Abund Berry.

Future plans

The completion of a strawberry greenhouse project and that of a storage unit are two of the priority plans for Abund Berry. Subsequently, all the fruits and products resulting from the greenhouse will primarily end up on the tables of Romanians, and then the surplus will be directed to European markets.

“The future of agriculture is in protected spaces, in greenhouses and in macro tunnels. Investments will gradually be directed towards production in environments where the climate factor represents a diminished risk. Climate is no longer a partner for producers,” says Ioan Burtea, Founder & CEO of Abund Berry.

---

*The company’s full story was published in the BVB Arena 2024 booklet, which gathers the stories of the 15 finalist companies selected last year in the program. A new edition of the BVB Arena program started in April. More details about the program and the BVB Arena 2024 booklet are available here.