Dried apricots by Chreni
In 2017, 14 years after moving to Armenia from Iran, Daniel Ghevondian decided to build on his experience working in Armenia’s beverage industry (Pepsi, Armenia Wine and Jermuk Mineral Water, specifically) by co-founding Chreni, a dehydrated fruit brand that harkened back to his childhood spent picking and drying seasonal fruits at home. He set out to design a production process that leveraged optimum growing conditions and viticulture in the Armenian Highlands and committed to a dehydrating method (meaning the fruit is dried at cold temperatures to avoid cooking of any kind, thus preserving optimum nutrition) that involved zero additives, sugars or preservatives.

Chreni’s dehydrated apricots were grown in Armenia (where the prunus armeniaca is indigenous) and processed and packaged by a team of local women in the company’s facility in Arzni village in the Kotayk province.