HealthyGrowth - From Niche to Volume with Integrity and Trust, FULL CASE STUDY REPORT for the Dairy cooperative EKO Žemaitija - Lithuania

Summary

The Lithuanian case study report is a part of a series report of the project “Healthy Growth: From Niche to Volume with Integrity and Trust”. This project investigated a range of successful mid-scale organic value chains in order to learn how they are able to combine volume and values, and to use this knowledge to support the further development of organic businesses and initiatives. Research teams from 10 European countries contributed to the project and analysed 19 cases. The organic dairy cooperative EKO Žemaitija with the related value chain of organic farm products and the stakeholder network around the cooperative was the investigation object of the Lithuanian research team. The case study report presents the development of the cooperative since its establishment in 2006 including changes in the number of cooperative members and in the farm structure as well as in its performance aiming to get a higher value for production. The in-depth analysis covers six tasks/perspectives: organisation and governance, business and management logic, quality and market differentiation, communication of values, transmission of values and qualities, and risk and resilience.