May the 17th, 2023 - The popular Croatian brands Zvijezda (star) and PIK Vrbovec have decided to team up in partnership with the much loved Mlinar. They have already announced three brand new products.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Mlinar, as one of the largest bakery groups within the Adria region that continuously innovates and follows trends, has recently been offering Planet of plants products in its assortment: burek, hot dogs made in puff pastry and a plant-based sandwich. In the first phase, the offer will be available at more than 70 Mlinar sales points throughout the Republic of Croatia, and in the second phase, it will be available in the entire Mlinar network and for other wholesale customers. This is the result of cooperation with the popular Croatian brands Zvijezda and PIK Vrbovec, which, several years ago, designed the very first Croatian line of plant-based products; Planet of plants.

Planet of plants burek contains pea protein instead of minced meat, and along with it, there is also a leafy one with a Planet of plants hot dog created on a plant-based basis which is made from pea protein and potatoes, with a side of mustard combined with a creamy sauce made of ginger, turmeric and cumin. The third product that can recently be found in Mlinar is a sandwich with salami made from sunflower protein, along enriched with egg-free mayonnaise.

"When we say plant-based, most people still think of vegans and vegetarians. However, the market shows that we're increasingly choosing plant-based foods, this even goes for all of us "others" for whom meat is still an important source of protein, but are ready to try something new and introduce new eating habits. Our strength lies in the experience of production based on the use of the power of plants, and we're glad that we have the opportunity to build the development of a new category of products together with consumers and create some new habits,'' said Gaspar Novak, the director of marketing and development of Zvijezda, which developed the line in synergy with PIK Vrbovec within the Fortenova Group.

Mlinar, on the other hand, stated that they always try to keep up with trends and offer their customers something new.

"Following the trends, cooperation with Planet of plants, as the first Croatian line of plant-based products, was a logical step forward. We combined tradition with innovation and offered our customers practical and tasty snacks at sales points throughout the Republic of Croatia. Burek is Mlinar's best-selling product of all, and we're glad that with this step into plant-based alternatives to meat, we've been able to further expand our offer," said Mario Scherr, Mlinar's executive director of marketing and retail.

In the Planet of plants line, in addition to the new bakery products that can now be found in Mlinar stores, there are a total of nine products: burgers, salami, minced meat, hot dogs, dumplings, mayonnaise, sauce, spread and coconut cubes. In addition to Croatia, these new products can be found on the markets of Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro and Hungary, and further expansion of placement on foreign markets is planned.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 17th of May, 2019, as things currently stand, Croatia's beloved and highly popular Mlinar bakery chain boasts bakeries in seven European countries apart from the Republic of Croatia: in neighbouring Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary, as well as a little further afield in Slovakia, Germany, Switzerland, and Malta.

The news that Mlinar had closed its bakery in the bustling German city of Munich came as a surprise to many. The Yelp page, which offers customers and would-be customers open and transparent reviews of everything from hotels and restaurants to shops, states the Mlinar bakery at Marienplatz, Munich, is closed, according to a report from 24sata.

Over the last year or so, Croatia's much loved Mlinar bakery has been continuing to expand rapidly and has opened multiple outlets outside of Croatia, some in Europe and some much, much further afield.

Back at the tail end of 2012 is when Mlinar first began to spread its wings. First they entered the neighbouring Slovenian market, and the opening of a bakery in Germany was definitely a special moment for the company which has long been a household name here in Croatia.

The biggest achievement for Mlinar's operations over in Germany took place back in 2015 when a bakery was opened on Munich's Marienplatz, in the very centre of this popular and busy German city. The then majority owner, Mato Škojo, proudly announced the further expansion of the company on both the European and global markets.

The closure of this particular bakery came to light after it was announced that the Mid Europe Investment Fund, which is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, took over the majority stake in Mlinar, the largest Croatian bakery company, while its former owner Mato Škojo retained a mere minority stake.

From Mlinar itself, they state that the Munich bakery was closed due to the inability to continue to cooperate with the owner of the premises at which it was located, before London's "Mid Europe" Investment Fund became the majority owner of Mlinar. They stress how these situations do happen from time to time and that the company is in constant search for adequate spaces, adding that it is continuing with its expansion plans.

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The Mid Europa Partners Fund has entered into the ownership structure of Mlinar, the leading bakery company in Croatia. Mato Škojo will retain a share, but Mid Europa will have a majority stake, according to a statement posted on the website of one of the leading investors in Central and Eastern Europe, reported by Jutarnji List on April 9, 2019.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to complete in Q2 2019.

“We plan to help the company expand internationally, and we look forward to our partnership with Mr Škojo as he continues to support Mlinar's growth,” said Andrej Babache, a partner in Mid Europa, a fund which, according to Škojo, “has an excellent track record in food production and retail."

“Our investment in Mlinar builds on our strong track record in investing in leading CEE retail and consumer businesses. On the retail side, we believe Mlinar can benefit from our experience in accelerated store expansion execution deployed in Zabka and Profi. On the product side, the focus will be on brand equity enhancement and innovation, as successfully implemented in Bambi, our biscuits producer which was recently sold to Coca Cola HBC. We will also look to exploit synergies between Mlinar's frozen bakery programme and product development initiatives at our Polish market leader in frozen food, Hortex,” explained Mid Europe's plans Robert Knorr, a partner in the fund.

Today, Mlinar has more than 230 directly-owned retail outlets in four European countries and has a wholesale business in additional 19 global markets, including Pakistan and Dubai. Franchises have so far been sold in 10 countries on three continents. It employs almost 2,000 workers, while the production is organised in five large bakery plants – two in Osijek, and one each in Poreč, Šibenik and Zagreb.

Mid Europa is a British investment fund that operates in Central and Eastern Europe. Since the beginning of the business operations, they invested around 5.2 billion euros in numerous companies. Established in 1999, Mid Europa has become a pioneer in the private capital sector in the region, with offices in Budapest, Istanbul, London and Warsaw. They have also set up a fund management company on Guernsey Island.

From the very start, they have invested in leading companies in the market, mainly in local growth-oriented industries. Among other deals, in 2015, they became new owners of three Serbian food companies, Imlek, Bambi and Knjaz Miloš, while in March last year they took over the majority share in the Serbian health group MediaGroup.

Translated from Jutarnji List (reported by Lea Balenović, Matea Grbac).

More news about the Mlinar bakery company can be found in the Business section.

Whether it's a cheese burek and yogurt or kifle and a hot coffee to get you going in the morning, or a slice of pizza and an ice tea in the evening, Mlinar has been serving the needs of the general public in Croatia for many years. From freshly baked bread to various donuts, strudels and sandwiches, this bakery has it covered. 

Mlinar has been spreading its wings over the last couple of years, with its business stretching over to as far as Australia, and it seems that trend isn't about to stop yet, even if it's much closer to home here in Europe. 

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 19th of March, 2019, over the last few years, the company has been intensively developing its export placement and expanding its franchise business all over the world, taking to multiple countries and indeed to multiple continents.

The very first Mlinar bakery in the Scandinavian country of Finland opened its doors to the Finnish public on March the 16th, 2019, in the city of Lahti, at Vapaudenkatu 13. Just one day earlier, Mlinar's sixth store in Sarajevo, in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina was opened at Koševo 21 (otherwise, as far as the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina is concerned, this is the ninth Mlinar bakery to open in the country).

As Mlinar continues its mission of ''taking over the world'' with its popular baked goods, Mlinar's wise business move in opening a bakery over in Finland has occurred after doing the same in neighbouring Hungary and Slovenia, as well as in Germany, Australia, Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Slovakia, and Malta.

From our continent of Europe to as far as New South Wales on the other side of the world in Australia, Mlinar's easily recognisable blue sign can be found thanks to a set of clever business moves and the intensive development of its export placement.

Make sure to stay up to date by following our dedicated business page for much, much more.

New horizons for Mlinar!

The Pakistani city of Lahore is now home to Mlinar's biggest cafe!

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After Dubai and Sydney, Mlinar opens its first bakery in Serbia, in Belgrade.

The first Mlinar Café in Dubai offers a wide range of baked goods, all of them halal certified.

Croatia’s major largest bakery chain could soon change ownership.