American essential oil distillery opened its doors in Dobrich

Approximately 5 million leva have been invested in the new distillery, which is currently the only one in Bulgaria that also has a laboratory and research center. It will process not only lavender, but also lemon balm, chamomile, yarrow and other essential oil-bearing plants. The distillery will create 60–80 new jobs, 30 of which will be on year-round contracts, and during the summer campaigns an additional 50 people will be employed. The plan for this year is to produce 20 tons of lavender oil and 300–400 kg of lemon balm oil.

The largest distillery for lavender and other essential oils in Bulgaria officially opened its doors on 15 June in the industrial zone of Dobrich and is owned by “Esseterre Bulgaria”, a subsidiary of the US-based cosmetics company doTERRA. The choice of the American company is not accidental, as Bulgaria is a world leader in the production and export of lavender oil, having surpassed even France in 2014, where lavender has traditionally been a livelihood.

Bulgaria holds a leading position in the export of lavender essential oils worldwide. In 2015 exports reached record levels – over 20 million leva. This is an increase of nearly 100% over the last two years, as in 2013 exports were just under 11 million leva. The sown areas with this essential oil crop are also increasing, from 3,500 hectares in 2010 to 6,892 hectares last year, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the National Statistical Institute. The largest markets to which our country exports oils are France and the USA, with 4.1 and 3.7 million leva of exported production respectively. One of the reasons that directly contributes to Bulgaria’s success in this business is the fact that other major producers such as Moldova, Ukraine, Hungary, the former Yugoslav republics and China have significantly reduced or discontinued their production.

The distillery in Dobrich

Approximately 5 million leva have been invested in the new distillery, which is currently the only one in Bulgaria that also has a laboratory and research center. It will process not only lavender, but also lemon balm, chamomile, yarrow and other essential oil-bearing plants. The installation consists of 12 distillation units of 5.5 cubic meters each. At full capacity, it is expected to produce between two and three tons of lavender oil and to process about 200 tons of lavender flowers in 24 hours. In addition to working with essential oils, “Esseterre Bulgaria” also has the ambition to distil frankincense, which will be imported from Somalia and Ethiopia.

The “Esseterre Bulgaria” distillery will operate 200–250 days a year, with a break in the months of December and January. “The plan for this year is to produce 20 tons of lavender oil and 300–400 kg of lemon balm oil,” announced the Bulgarian partners of the parent company doTERRA.

Social commitment

The distillery will create 60–80 new jobs, 30 of which will be on year-round contracts, and during the summer campaigns an additional 50 people will be employed.

In this project “Esseterre Bulgaria” is partnering with the Social Teahouse – an entrepreneurial project of an organization based in Varna, which offers jobs and mentoring programmes to young people from state institutions and from socially and/or family-disadvantaged backgrounds.

dōTERRA

dōTERRA is based in Utah, USA and was founded in 2008. The same year the company entered the consumer network with its first range of essential oils, which included 25 single oils and 10 blends. The company is one of the leaders in the sector of cosmetic products based on essential oils, is developing at a rapid pace and by 2012 had a turnover of more than 1 million dollars per day. Their annual turnover for 2015 amounted to over 1.2 billion dollars.

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