Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Our story

The history of “the Manna” Tsatsaronakis Cretan products is an unusual one. It is interwoven with tradition, passion and a very real insistence on the authentic taste and pure ingredients from the land of the island of Crete. The company continues to evolve by linking, at group level, inventive production and tourism to “from the farm to the table for visitors”.

It is the story of a company that started from the village of Platanos in Chania, Crete, and managed to distribute packaged rusk products throughout the Greek and international markets.

It is a story about the Tsatsaronakis family, which since 1948 has “kneaded” the flavour that accompanies our everyday life, taking care of the diet and the society that surrounds it.Travel with us on the most delicious story: the history of “the Manna” Tsatsaronaki, the “Manna of the Greeks” and the entire world.

1948
Charitos Tsatsaronakis, the patriarch of the family, is inspired by an intense religious feeling and builds a small oven that he calls "the Manna" in the village of Platanos. His own "manna from heaven" born from the ashes of war provides the yeast for the Tsatsaronakis family business.
1960
Nikos Tsatsaronakis takes the baton from his father and decides to take “the Manna” barley rusks to the central market in Chania, packaging them in paper bags, marking the beginning of the supply chain, packaging and market growth a reality for “The Manna”.
1967
Marika, Nikos’ wife, joins the family and makes the oven her second home. She looks after the family and the business day and night bringing a new balance to "the Manna".
1968
"The Manna" barley rusks make their way from Crete to Athens and are placed for the first time on store shelves and enjoyed by the public of the city.
1985
The family invest in the largest rotary bakery oven in the Balkans which is located where it all began, in Platanos, Crete. The Tsatsaronakis family remains faithful to tradition, while production reaches another level.
1986
The US market opens its arms and welcomes "the Manna" Tsatsaronaki products which become synonymous with "Greekness" in New York.
1988-90
The company and the Tsatsaronakis family are growing up. Giorgos Tsatsaronakis, Nikos' brother, a chemical engineering graduate from NTUA and a man with an international reach and an interdisciplinary outlook, overseas the training and education of the children of the third generation of the family, who go on to assume key positions in the business.
1996
The third generation now actively manages the company taking up important positions within the organisation. Giorgos Tsatsaronakis continues to invest in the power of the family while he moves towards company collaborations and relationships with important personalities from the world of "business".
1997-1998
"The Manna" barley rusks are first advertised on the radio. Communication is systematized "building" a relationship of trust with the public; advertisements focus on the quality of the products.
1997-1998
Packaging is systemised. "The Manna" label is used. The rusk food category is now a commercial food category.
2000
More members of the third generation of the family join different levels within the company with a focus on exports while sharing a common vision: Nikos and Marika’s vision that goes hand in hand with professionalism, while family succession meets corporate governance.
2001
Australia welcomes "the Manna" Tsatsaronaki Cretan traditional products that prove to be popular not only with Greek Australians.
2002
The Tsatsaronakis family invests in the new Athens Distribution Centre which optimises distribution.
2005
"The Manna" rusks are first advertised on television. The company reaches a 40% market share marking a new level of responsibility the company is ready to take.
2007
Demand from foreign markets is growing, leading to the systematization of an organized export policy.
2010
The company links nutrition to tourism, achieving the first corporate diversification with the primary sector and the provision of tourism services.
2012
"The Manna" rusks earn the "FDA approved" label, after the US Food and Drug Administration's inspection of the main production unit in Platanos Kissamos takes place.
2013
The success of “the Manna” is an example of local development and entrepreneurial resilience and is studied as a case study at renowned Universities throughout Europe and the USA.
1997-2017
"The Manna" rusks win a series of awards that confirm their quality and superior flavour. In 1997, the company wins the Oldways Award, followed in 2015 with the Made in Greece Award for Branding and the European Business Award for Best Export Entrepreneurship in 2016-2017.
2013
The Tsatsaronakis Cultural Centre is built in memory of Marika and Giorgos Tsatsaronakis, truly representing the company’s sense of corporate responsibility.
2015
"The Manna" Tsatsaronaki company expands into other bakery products, promising to maintain its excellent quality and the purest ingredients.
2017
The new Transit and Supply Centre in Northern Greece (Thessaloniki) provides the gateway to the Balkans and Europe. "The Manna" is ready to "travel" to new horizons.
2018
Our 70 years of history, resilience and continuity are recognized with the "Ancient Brand" gold medal. The company's products, everyone's favorites, have been enjoyed from generation to generation.