The Greek leading company Helios was founded in 1919, based at 58, Athinon-Pireos str., in its first historical facilities next to XROPEI industry, an excellent strategic location chosen by Helios’s founder Stylianos Diamantopoulos.

Born in 1891 at Chrisafa of Sparta, Stylianos Diamantopoulos worked several jobs before engaging in the market of spices at the age of 28. Entering an already flourishing market, he would soon manage to make his mark, adopting innovative methods of promoting spices.

The company ventured mainly in the bulk selling of imported spices, with a small amount of local spices in the mix. The customers of Helios were owners of grocery shops who bought products in bulk, like pepper, cinnamon, clove and allspice, popular products during the ‘20s.

Except from bulk, Diamantopoulos adopted the carton idea, a large white carton, bearing attached overlapping little white plastic sachets with spices, lined up in a vertical arrangement according to the product. The grocer pulled down the sachet for the customer. Helios was the first label introducing this packaging system to the market at the end of ‘20s, when Stylianos Diamantopoulos also imported incense rocks and wicks for the first time, distributing them even to the country areas. In 1954, due to the sudden decease of the founder, his 27-year old son Vassilis was named leader of the company.

The name of the company was changed to Packaging Industry Helios Vassilis Diamanatopoulos and the future was promising thanks to the passion of the new generation for growth.

As a graduate of Ionnideios School and Trade School, Vassilis Diamantopoulos held an innovative view about the industry’s growth that led him to experiment on spices in an effort to escape banality. In 1960-61, he imported the first German packaging machine, an innovative decision as no one before him has ever thought that spice sachets could be machine packaged in boxes of 24 or 36 sachets accordingly. In 3-4 years time, he imported a second machine and at the beginning of the ‘70s, he introduced the glass bottle packaging, starting new business with supermarkets.

Following the packaging redesigning and the implementation of new codes, the top venturing since the middle of the ‘60s proved to be the Carino mix of spice for chicken.

Helios Industry turned a new page and the Management decided to relocate the business at 58, Pireos str., just behind the Diamantopoulos family house, where the brand would be housed for the next 12 years. A 1974 relocation to Paxon & Andritsenis str. at Kaminia followed by the installation of a third packaging machine, the opening in herbs and the transformation of the company to an Industrial and Commercial S.A. came later, before finally relocating to its current facilities at Agiou Ioanni Rendi 157 at Kaminia in 1986.

Since then, growth has been steady, with more codes, imports mainly from Asia and multiple exporting activities. Exports started with oregano to the United States 30 years ago and continue up to date to Germany, Cyprus, Hong Kong and other European countries.