Zanda Trukšāne is an entrepreneur, marketing expert, customer advisor, product developer and quality manager. Above all, however, she is a farmer and believes in the power of nature. She wants to make products that bring the energy of nature into kitchens and onto plates.
Together with her husband, she left the capital city of Riga in 2016 to devote herself to her parents' farm in Ludza, Latgale, after completing her studies in economics and finance. ‘We wanted to return to Ludza in Latgale to work on my parents' farm and develop it further. We had had enough of city life.’
The 32-year-old explains that it was a traditional farm with 24 hectares of land, cows and sheep. ‘However, we didn't want to raise livestock, we only wanted to produce plant-based products.’ She cites the workload as the reason for the change. "When you have animals on the farm, you're busy seven days a week, all year round. We didn't want that and looked for new ways.‘ In the beginning, they grew carrots, courgettes and beetroot for a baby food manufacturer. Their parents were not enthusiastic at first, but they went along with the experiment. ’The starting conditions were good for us because my parents had already switched to organic farming. So we didn't have to worry about certification."
Working and living in the countryside brought new business ideas: they started growing and drying herbs and producing spice blends specifically for Latvian cuisine. ‘We started doing that in 2018.’ Zanda admits that it wasn't always easy. She and her husband acquired a lot of agricultural and production expertise through further education and training. ‘But nature always has its own laws, and we had to learn to work with it.’ In addition, large investments were necessary to purchase machinery and equipment for agriculture and to set up production. ‘Fortunately, we received subsidies to get started.’
They have now set up a small production facility in Ludza in a traditional Soviet-era residential building. In their sales room, they offer 68 products, including ten spice blends, various herbal teas and various berry and vegetable powders. ‘Eighty percent of the ingredients we use come from our own cultivation. We buy the remaining 20 percent for our spice blends from other organic farmers in Latgale. In some cases we complement them with carefully selected spices from other regions — especially when creating new blends with flavors that cannot be achieved with local crops alone.’
Zanda explains what it means to produce spices for Latvian tastes. ‘In this region, for example, paprika doesn't play a big role as a spice, but dill does.’ The young couple spent a long time searching for the best drying method for dill to preserve its flavour. ‘It has to be done quickly and the drying temperature has to be just right,’ she explains, without revealing the secret. In traditional Latgalian cuisine, rhubarb and currants were also used to cook hearty dishes, for example. ‘So we developed spice mixtures with these fruits.’ She says that they worked on a spice mixture for fish for a long time. ‘Now it's finally on the market. There are so many lakes and rivers in Latgale that a lot of fish is eaten here.’ She is particularly proud of the quince pepper. ‘Our lemon is the quince, which grows here in all the gardens. It's an interesting and popular flavour.’
On the farm, about 15 kilometers from Ludza, all kinds of herbs are grown in the fields and partly in greenhouses for use in spices, spice mixes or teas. Zanda lists some of them: basil, coriander, marigold, thyme, tarragon, oregano, leek and garlic and several others. We are constantly experimenting with new spices and herbs to get even more flavors in our spice blends and teas.
The family sells its products in its own shop in Ludza, in various local shops, at markets and festivals, and in shops in various cities across Latvia. The online shop is also important. ‘Many customers buy a pack to try on site. If they are satisfied, they continue to shop online. That's why the online shop is very important.’
Four people do all the work in the company: ‘My parents, my husband and me.’ The young woman explains why they don't have any employees as follows: ‘The quality of our work is simply better because of our motivation.’ Of course, there are peak periods, but there are also quiet phases. ‘Yes, the work-life balance suits us now. That wasn't the case at the beginning, but now we're satisfied. Even with our income.‘ Zanda knows of some young people and families who have returned to Ludza. She sees this development as positive, as it brings more optimism back to the region. ’We are satisfied with our life in the countryside and happy with our products. This allows us to deliver some of our energy to the big cities."
