June the 19th, 2021 - The prices of some of Croatia's favourite Slavonian delicacies are rising, with the price of the much loved Slavonian kulen potentially rising by as much as 100 kuna.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the price of some Slavonian delicacies, such as kulen, could increase by 100 kuna, as was reported local portal Glas Slavonije.

Producers of dried meat products from the Eastern Croatian regions of Slavonia and Baranja, when compared to the producers of some other products, only partially felt the negative effects of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The bigger producers of these typically Slavonian delicacies, who pointed out back in June last year that the pandemic had indeed caused certain problems with placement, especially from mid-March to mid-May, felt the most issues of all.

"People weren't going out and buying our products, and their purchasing power was reduced. However, the decline in those spring sales was partially compensated for during the summer and autumn of last year,'' said the director of the company Baranjka, Miodrag Komlenic.

Smaller producers of such produce claim to have managed to sell their stocks, and production, despite the pandemic, has thankfulyl not really been reduced - some have even expanded their offer.

"I can't say that the pandemic has stopped our sales. The demand is growing more and more, so I left only a certain amount in stock to meet the needs of our long-term customers,'' said Slobodan Stankovic.

He is also considering selling his items in smaller packages (of 100 or 200 grams), and is adamant that one kilo of kulen in his next ''round'' is going to cost 250 kuna (the current price is around 200 kuna per kilogram).

"One kilo of my kulen has been 200 kuna for years. But I think that the real price should be between 250 and 300 kuna,'' said Milodrag Stojkovic, the owner of a family farm (OPG) which produces Slavonian delicacies. He manages to rationalise this decision because of the raising of the price of fodder, which should soon increase by as much as 35 percent.

"Corn has already risen in price, I have to pay 200 kuna for 100 kilograms of that. I have to charge people these price increases because doing business will be impossible and completely unprofitable otherwise. Rising prices for various items are common, so it must be the same with cured meat products,'' Stojkovic concluded for Glas Slavonije.

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For all you need to know about the wide variety of Croatian food, recipies and traditions from up and down the country, check our our dedicated section.

June the 16th, 2021 - A team of Croatian designers are set to design A1 Croatia's workwear in a brand new tender which works to keep locally made products in mind.

With the coronavirus pandemic having highlighted, among other things, that we can't always rely on imports and that trying to produce as much as we can locally is the best direction to go in, A1 Croatia have their eyes set on talented Croatian designers, of which there are plenty. 

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, Telekom A1 Hrvatska/Croatia has announced a tender for Croatian designers to apply for. The tender invites them to design new work clothes for their employees, with a prize fund for the best solutions amounting to 30,000 kuna.

As they explained from the aforementioned company, the whole process, from the selection of the design solution to the very execution and application will be carried out in cooperation with Naftalin, a Croatian company which deals the production of workwear. By making this business move, A1 Croatia wants to give an incentive to Croatian designers and companies.

“The choice of such a company was prompted by the desire to show how some support for a creatively strong part of society can easily enable it to become more visible and to improve and develop its business.

We're aware of the exceptional importance of local production for every community, because we can only grow when the community in which we operate is also growing,'' said Iva Ancic, head of brand and marketing communications at A1 Croatia.

The panel for the selection of the design of the new work clothes also provided a place for one of the employees who, with his advice and first-hand knowledge, will help make the new clothes created by Croatian designers as comfortable as possible and according to the wishes of the employees themselves, the company explains.

For more, make sure to follow Made in Croatia.

June the 16th, 2021 - The Zagreb company Bellabeat, a Croatian startup which has gained traction and a lot of attention as time has gone on, has presented its brand new smart bracelet.

As Novac/Bernard Ivezic writes, Bellabeat initially started producing smart bracelets seven years ago, of which, according to Business Insider, Leaf Urban and Leaf Chakra were named the best pieces of smart jewellery in the entire world back in February. The company has since completed the development of a new smart bracelet named Ivy. There are more than 50,000 pre-orders for it already, and this also means that the Zagreb company Bellabeat has more than 50,000 new subscribers.

Namely, with the creation of this new smart bracelet, the Zagreb company Bellabeat is changing its business model, and now its bracelets include a monthly subscription.

Sandro Mur, the co-founder and CEO of the Zagreb company Bellabeat, explained that Ivy better monitors heart and respiratory health, enabling the company to provide its customers with better quality information not only about their physical health but also their mental health, which is often forgotten about but is just as important.

Twenty long months of development...

''We're very proud of the new Bellabeat product, which we've been designing and perfecting for more than 20 months to come to a solution that is perfectly aligned with all the needs of women today,'' says Mur.

He explains that Ivy measures calories, distances, active pulse, exercise intensity during the day and monitors meditation, and at night it monitors sleep duration, sleep quality, resting heart rate, respiration and heart coherence. Based on the above and additional data collected through the app, Mur states that they offer a range of indicators on body readiness, wellness and even menstrual cycle.

''Ivy has advanced sensors to measure steps and active time spent, as well as all other parameters it monitors, and the design, which is aimed at women, offers them the chance to monitor their body dynamics throughout the day to allow them to better understand their own body and individual needs better than any other similar product on the market,'' says Mur.

In saying that, he is primarily thinking of the loudest competitor in the segment of smart items - Apple. The Zagreb company Bellabeat, for example, claims that its smart device can estimate when the user should give up on doing their next exercise due to exhaustion and a risk of becoming unwell. This assessment is made by advanced algorithms developed by the Croatian startup itself, and are trained on what is probably the largest private health database in Croatia.

The company states that it has more than 100 billion sets of health data about its users. This is an extremely important piece of information because the more data a algorithm can be trained on, the more accurate it is. It isn't known how much Bellabeat smart jewellery has been sold to date, but the latest known data from 2017 indicates that it had then sold more than 700,000 pieces. This is a record that has not been surpassed by any other Croatian startup.

Mur, who recently announced he was raising a 10 million US dollar investment, is considering one acquisition and plans to go public within three years and sees an opportunity to open up the corporate wellness market with a new product.

''I think that we've become much more aware of our own health and the health of the people we work and are around, and that more and more employers and managers understand the importance of caring for employee health,'' says Mur.

For more, follow our dedicated business section.

June the 15th, 2021 - Coko Jagodica owned by Valentina Anic are the perfect Croatian item for anyone with a sweet tooth. It seems they've not only been well received across the country, but also across the European Union (EU).

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marta Duic writes, Coko Jagodica is a Zagreb-based brand started by a young entrepreneur Valentina Anic from her very own kitchen. Each individual strawberry is bathed in premium Belgian chocolate, without any artificial colours, they are from organic farms and are hand-decorated. Today, three months after starting the business, Coko Jagodica is delivered throughout the Republic of Croatia, and Valentina is expanding her offer, slowly but surely conquers foreign markets.

“The brand was launched very spontaneously, I'd even say by accident and out of pure love for sweet food. The idea came up on Valentine's Day this year, and the day after I opened my Instagram profile, well, that's how it all started. For now, I do everything myself, but with the increase in work and as time goes on, I'll soon have to look for employees. This business year has been the most important for me. Given that this is the first year of me doing business, it's very important what impression I leave. Therefore, I tried to pay attention to every detail,'' explained Valentina Anic. The most significant investment for her was the very starting up of her business, and her story is spreading further from month to month.

"So far, I've agreed to cooperate with two agencies for organising events. There are a lot of questions and agreements that we still have to negotiate and it seems to me that there will be more associates soon,'' explained Coko Jagodica's owner. Her focus was first on strawberries and chocolate, and she recently introduced apples and cherries, and soon it will be the turn of other fruits.

In addition to standard chocolates in the form of chocolate boxes (smaller and larger packages) Anic introduced boxes and bouquets with flowers or towers in the shape of cakes. Initially, she planned to sell via social media, more precisely through Facebook or Instagram, and her main goal was for customers to choose what they wanted and arrange their order, and today she is making new plans and devising other sales channels.

"Considering that the business started very well in a relatively short period of time, we were being asked more and more about whether there's a small shop where people can come without making a prior order to choose and buy ready-made products. Ideas and plans about that are in my head,'' explained Anic.

Coko Jagodica is produced in her own home, that is, in her kitchen. Later, a special space in front of the house became a place intended exclusively for Coko Jagodica, and the young entrepreneur isn't lacking in her desire to expand production.

''There's such a great love for this job that the strawberries are very often being prepared all night long, without sleep. The biggest order so far was for Mother's Day, and 50 kilos of strawberries were sold on Saturday and Sunday,'' revealed the innovative Anic.

Belgian chocolate, which is a key ingredient in this dessert along with the fruit, is sourced directly from its original producers. As for the berries, they are from organic farms, and she buys them from family members located in the vicinity of Zagreb.

“Early in the morning, they deliver freshly picked strawberries to me every day. They're grown in greenhouses, so supply is possible all year round. The interest is great, each strawberry is hand-decorated down to the last detail and I’m sure people will recognise that. Besides, this os something completely new on the Croatian market. In addition to delivering across Croatia, we also sell them abroad. These strawberries most often travel to Germany, Italy and Austria. That percentage is still significantly lower than the sales on the Croatian market, but it's also growing more and more,'' points out Anic, who has her eye firmly on further business development when the time is right.

"First of all, the focus is on the opening of a small sweet bar in the centre of Zagreb, where people will be able to come, sit down, drink a glass of champagne with strawberries, pick up their order or buy ready-made products without prior notice,'' concluded Coko Jagodica's owner.

For more, follow Made in Croatia.

June the 12th, 2021 - Italy might have its famed gondolas, but could a Croatian water bike from the Osijek company Aurea Group (Grupa) be the next big thing along the Croatian coast and in the country's many lakes and rivers?

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes, the very first Croatian water bike, made by the Osijek company Aurea Group, has been around since this month. "A Croatian product for the global market" is the slogan of this company, which presented such the first Croatian water bike, Aurea Bike, at Marina Kastela. The water bike will give both local and foreign tourists the opportunity to experience the Croatian Adriatic coast, as well as the many Croatian rivers and lakes in a new, safe, different and at the same time ecological way.

The Osijek company Aurea Group has announced that it is starting with serial production, and although they come from "flat Slavonia" surrounded by rivers and lakes, they will first present their bike on a tour of Croatia in sunny Dalmatia, in the aforementioned marina, where those interested will be able to try it out until June the 13th.

They want to place them throughout Croatia's immediate region and the EU

There are only a few manufacturers of water bikes in the world, and the Osijek company Aurea Group is among them, according to the company's director, Alen Alic. On the world market, this Croatian company stood out owing to its design with unsinkable floats filled with styrofoam, which guarantee additional safety when on the water, and it's also designed for the catamaran type of navigation. This is also an additional impetus towards health tourism and active holidays, which an increasing number of people are focusing on.

"Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic affected tourism and put the season into question last year and this year, so due to the uncertainty, we started presenting the products only at the beginning of June. But there's interest, and in May the first bicycles went down to Omis. The target group so far are renters on the coast. For three months, we prepared parts, orders and payments; everything has to be calculated in millimetres because serial production is done according to specific plans,'' explains Alic, who estimates that they have invested more than half a million kuna in the project so far.

Since back in pre-pandemic 2019, when they started with the water bike idea, they've mostly focused on safety and functionality. Apart from being oriented towards the Croatian coast, they're also interested in their innovation in Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. The company also hired an export manager for the foreign market because inquiries come from outside the region as well, more precisely from Spain, the Netherlands and even from France.

Alic says that they can deliver up to 50 bicycles in a short time, but they don't want to accumulate stock until they see how the market is standing. He also revealed the details of the production itself.

“We can deliver several dozen pieces in a short time. We have all the parts, we just need to plasticise and assemble them, but we're going to wait and see what the reactions are. We procure the propellers in Germany, and we do and produce everything else here in Croatia. For three months, we worked only on parts, laser cutting, welding, aluminum, lathe, machine and manual processing - all to make the product as safe as possible.

Our bike can’t sink, and we tested it on strong waves and among large boats to make sure it was unsinkable and safe for all users, families and children, from tipping over and letting water in. If the user, for example, hits a rock, there is styrofoam inside, which makes the bike unsinkable, and which makes us stand out on the global market.

The bike can pull up to 5 knots, but it is designed as a comfortable and easy ride at a speed of 2-3 knots (about 5 km/h). We focused mostly on getting a product with a large load capacity and a large diameter, the only important thing is to try to distribute the centre of gravity,'' explains Alic.

The Osijek company Aurea Group's water bike has an attractive design, is two metres wide and three metres long, with a load capacity of 450 kg. However, in the realisation process, Alic says, they wouldn't have succeeded if it were not for the company D&D Metal, with which they've been successfully cooperating for years now, and thanks to which they can present this piece of Croatian-made innovation today.

For more, follow Made in Croatia.

June the 10th, 2021 - The German media has been no stranger to the entire Rimac story, with numerous articles praising the Croatian Mate Rimac, being referred to as the ''Elon Musk of the Balkans'' and compared to genius and countryman Nikola Tesla. That trend hasn't stopped and the showers of praise from Germany continue for this remarkable entrepreneur from Livno.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the popular German publication Der Spiegel has featured the brand new car made by Croatian Mate Rimac, as reported by Index. The beautiful new Nevera is described by the publication as "superior", and Rimac has been referred to as a person who is "introducing new standards" to the electric car industry.

“The 2000 hp Rimac Nevera sports car demonstrates the superiority of electric drive on the racetrack,” Der Spiegel points out in an article entitled ''Bugatti was yesterday. Now comes Rimac's Nevera.''

The German paper also states that Croatian Mate Rimac's truly stunning Nevera represents "the current peak of a brilliant career", during which Rimac, in ten years from being "completely unknown" became an advisor to some of the most famous managers in the automotive industry, even advising the bosses of Volkswagen and Porsche on switching to electric cars.

However, Der Spiegel critically states that "Nevera plays on the lowest instincts", reports Index.

"We wanted to show off what is technically possible. And, of course, have a little fun,'' Rimac told Der Spiegel, who recalls that he started his career as a race driver. "Infidelity is not a contribution to mass mobility, but it's a fun activity for a few," explains Rimac.

Despite appealing to speed lovers and perhaps ''the lowest human instincts'', Nevera should also demonstrate "what Rimac Automobili can produce". According to the Index, Der Spiegel believes that Rimac's "technology can make ordinary vehicles faster, more economical, or safer".

For more, follow Made in Croatia.

June the 9th, 2021 - The Podravka factory (Kalnik) in continental Croatia is set to get an enormous cash injection to modernise its facilities and equipment to make way for the production of yet more products from this much loved Croatian company.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Sergej Novosel Vuckovic writes, the Kalnik Podravka factory located in the continental city of Varazdin is being modernised, after which new food products from this globally recognised company will be created.

The company received a huge 19.37 million euro grant from European Union (EU) funds from the Ministry of Agriculture, because the "Investment in the modernisation of fruit and vegetable processing plants, new technologies and new products from the Kalnik factory" project owned by Podravka passed the tender of the rural development programme for the implementation of measure 4.2. 1.

The works, which come with a hefty price tag of 40.6 million kuna include the purchase of new equipment and the reconstruction of the Podravka warehouse, as well as its subsequent conversion into a fully equipped, modern production space.

The new equipment on the cards are a line for the receiving, processing and aseptic filling of fruit, the purchase of additional vacuum boilers, all to increase production capacity, and the packaging equipment this Podravka factory uses will be changed and modernised.

This investment will also introduce a set of brand new products: jams, marmalades, new types of ajvar, vegetable and fruit spreads, fruit fillings and more. This particular Podravka factory in Kalnik is the location in which sterilised and pasteurised vegetables, mustard, horseradish and marinades are otherwise produced.

These investments in the company's Varazdin factory aim, among other things, to achieve a wider and more diverse range of products, which will increase the price competitiveness of Podravka's much loved items on both the Croatian market and indeed on foreign markets.

For more, make sure to follow our dedicated business section.

June the 5th, 2021 - When it comes to what Croatia has to offer, most people will likely immediately think of the sun, the glorious Adriatic sea, the many islands and the wine. Croatin gastronomy is certainly up there on that same list, and Croatian cheeses are becoming more and more well known internationally. Two Croatian cheeses are doing so well, in fact, that they've been ranked among the planet's very best.

Pag cheese is probably the first of the Croatian cheeses to spring to the mind of the majotiy of people remotely familiar with the country's production of this much loved food item.

The bizarre moonlike northern Adriatic island of Pag, the northern part of which belongs to Lika-Senj County and the central and southern part to Zadar County, is home to some of the most mouthwatering Croatian cheese for those who aren't lactose intolerant, of course. This island produces cheese which is then exported and taken all over the world to be enjoyed by cheese lovers, and it has firmly placed the entire country on the cheese map of the globe.

The World Food Atlas from Taste Atlas has picked up on the treasure trove which is Croatian gastronomy, more precisely on Croatian cheeses, and has declared two domestic products to be among the best the world has to offer.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, The World Food Atlas is a well-known website which is a must-browse for all food lovers or ''foodies'', and now they have published a revised ranking with the world's best cheeses.

On the list of the top 100 best rated cheeses according to the votes of the audience, there are as many as two Croatian cheeses. Skripavac took a more than respectable 61st place, and the famous, aforementioned Pag cheese has taken an extremely impressive 14th place.

If you're a cheese lover, you can view the entire list by clicking here.

For more, make sure to follow Made in Croatia.

June the 4th, 2021 - Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac recently unveiled the gorgeous Nevera, and it turns out that no two Rimac Nevera supercars will be the same, giving this remarkable vehicle even more of a special touch.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Mladen Milicic/VL writes, three years after the premiere of the C_Two prototype with which the Croatian technology company Rimac Automobili impressed the entire world, this Sveta Nedelja-based company recently presented a serial version of the most powerful and fastest electric car in the world, which was given a very resounding name - Nevera.

The Rimac Nevera supercars carry with them a proud Croatian name that truly reflects their utterly incredible performance - 1914 horsepower, acceleration from 0-60 mph in 1.85 seconds, up to 300 km/h in just 9.3 seconds and a top speed of 412 km/h. This is precisely why this impressive Croatian supercar is named after a quicj, unexpected and powerful Mediterranean storm.

''That's it. This is the car I dreamed of when I embarked on this ''impossible'' journey a decade ago. All of our hard work has resulted in Nevera - our record-breaking hypercar. This car was created to surpass everything and to raise the bar, to raise the standards for high performance cars. Not only in terms of performance, but also as a rounded, balanced road car. When we first introduced the C_Two we set soe extremely high goals. But from the beginning, we were looking for ways to surpass them,'' stated Mate Rimac, the founder and executive director of Rimac Automobili.

A technological flagship

He founded the company at the age of 21 back in 2009 with the aim of producing the fastest e-car in the world. Even back then, Rimac chose an excellent niche, the development of e-vehicles, which has now become the main development path for all manufacturers due to ecology issues.

Today, Rimac Automobili and its subsidiaries employ about 1,000 people, and a 200,000-square-metre campus project was recently presented in Kerestinec near Zagreb, which should be built in 2023 with an investment of 200 million euros and a plan to employ another 1,500 people.

Sophisticated e-car technology is sold to the world's most renowned car companies, and the likes of Porsche and Hyundai have invested hundreds of millions of kuna in the company. The last major investment came in March 2021 when the German giant Porsche invested another 70 million euros in Rimac's company and increased its stake from 15.5 to 24 percent.

"We'll produce only 150 Rimac Nevera supercars, with each car produced here in Croatia, motivated by the passion of the entire team for cars," said Rimac. The prominent price for the Nevera is two million euros.

We're most pleased that most of the key components of the Rimac Nevera supercars were developed at the company's headquarters in Croatia and contain many unique technologies, and all systems have been improved over the last three years since the first prototype was shown, by hundreds of our engineers and experts working at Rimac Automobili,'' Rimac stated.

E-motor efficiency: 97 percent

The key to Nevera's outstanding performance is in Rimac's unique electric drive. Each component of the electric powertrain has been developed to achieve higher torque, better performance and increased efficiency.

The unique, liquid-cooled H-shaped battery with 6960 cells, with a capacity of 120 kWh, was designed by the Rimac team from scratch and placed in the very heart of the Rimac Nevera supercars.

Four separate motors with permanent magnets individually drive each of the wheels. Together they deliver 1914 hp and 2360 Nm of torque, which is more than any supercar with a “conventional engine” currently available on the market. The front and rear wheels are connected to the engines via a single-speed transmission.

Designed to achieve maximum torque immediately, Nevera electric motors achieve an efficiency of 97 percent - compared to 40 percent seen in the most efficient internal combustion engines - and no maintenance is needed throughout their service life.

With space for two passengers and luggage (100 l boot/trunk capacity), the Nevera is a car made for regular use. There are three high-resolution TFT screens in the cockpit, and the driver chooses how much information they want to see.

Rimac's factory won't produce two Nevera cars the same, as customers can choose from a wide range of custom designs and materials themselves.

In addition to a state-of-the-art personalisation programme, Rimac Automobili will offer its main model in GT, Signature, Timeless or Bespoke custom models. As part of the user journey, every Nevera owner will be invited here to Croatia to design their car to their liking.

For more, follow Made in Croatia.

June 3, 2021 - With climate change bringing trouble to the coast, coastal hazard monitoring is a must. Meet the new method developed by a research team led by a scientist from Ruđer Bošković Institute (IRB).

Individuals from the scientific Ruđer Bošković Institute (IRB) in Zagreb continue to catch the attention of internationally established scientific journals, such as Marine Science ranked in the top 10% of magazines for the issues of sea and water biology.

This time, IRB's dr. Cléa Denamiel led an international research team that presented an innovative concept of warning on coastal hazards with stochastic methods.
Authors at Standford.edu in a pdf presentation are presenting stochastic methods as methods that involve random variables. They gave an example of multiple arrows flying towards a rock from multiple directions. When they hit the rock, arrows are positioned randomly.

„Nevertheless, you can still use their positions to estimate the location of the target“, explained Standford.edu presentation.

So, the presentation further elaborated that „like using randomly-positioned arrows to estimate the position of a target, stochastic methods have the goal of gaining information out of randomness“.

„To put it simply, current systems of warning are based on numerical methods that require advanced informatical resources, living a huge carbon dioxide print on the environment, while with the suggested appliance of stochastic methods to optimize forecast of coastal hazards and greatly reduce the need for informatics resources while taking elements of coincidence into account“, explained IRB in its official press release.

This is very important as coastal areas are under the increasing influence of climate hazards, particularly sea-level rise. IRB states that its predicted hazards related to sea level directly impact around 630 million people around the world by 2100.

The new method of warning and quantifying data on coastal hazards presented by dr. Denamiel and her team is innovative as all current systems for such monitoring are much more complexed as they are based on numerical models from kilometer to the meter of clearance.“The suggested approach would require fewer resources while keeping or even improving forecasts and assessments of coastal hazards“, concluded, dr. Ivica Vilibić from IRB.

Learn more about Croatian inventions & discoveries: from Tesla to Rimac on our TC page.

For more about science in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.