As Novac writes on the 28th of March, 2020, in order to help those who currently need assistance during the coronavirus outbreak, the management and vice-presidents of the Podravka Group, as well as the rest of the company's management, will set aside a portion of their own personal income and donate it for humanitarian purposes.

To date, those individuals from the well known Croatian company Podravka have raised more than 900,000 kuna, which they will donate to Croatian hospitals for the procurement of essential respirators and other necessary medical equipment needed to try to manage the current coronavirus pandemic.

''In addition to our regular humanitarian assistance, the least we as individuals can do is, in addition to organising our business operations appropriately during these extraordinary times, personally help out financially, so that our contribution can be incorporated into the purchase of respirators that may help save someone's life, or protect the lives of those who are busy saving lives by purchasing protective equipment.

I'm proud to be at the forefront of a company whose workers are wholeheartedly accomplishing their tasks, and whose management has never hesitated for a second in individually allocating their personal funds to be part of this humanitarian story,'' said the initiator of the initiative, Marin Pucar, CEO of Podravka.

In addition, as they emphasised, the Podravka Group's employees are working at full capacity these days. Production has been properly organised into three to four shifts, they claim, and their warehouses are working until late at night to load goods into trucks.

''Quality control laboratories are monitoring our production work flawlessly, some employees from corporate and administrative departments have been sent home to reduce the potential risk of them contracting coronavirus, and work from home for them has been organised. There are sufficient quantities of food and medicines to stop shop shelves from becoming empty,'' they state from Podravka.

Make sure to follow our dedicated section for rolling information and updates on coronavirus in Croatia.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 24th of March, 2020, in order to make everyday life easier for Croatia's residents during the ongoing coronavirus epidemic and to help them make sure they leave their homes as little as possible, two major Croatian companies, Podravka and Croatian Post, have joined forces and made online ordering of Podravka's food packages possible, with free delivery.

This package preparation action has been prompted by numerous inquiries from residents across the country about the delivery options for Podravka's products, which are most commonly used in their households and are always in high demand.

Special packages that can now be ordered through the Yellow Click online store for price tags of 500 and 800 kuna, are the products for both adults and kids, and are precisely the ones that are the most wanted from Podravka's range according to available sales data, such as yeast, soups, canned vegetables, canned fish, baby food, dessert products, spreads, etc. These individual product prices are the lowest regular prices on the market, and the packages can be ordered and sent to someone else.

''While the vast majority of residents are now in their homes, our employees are working tirelessly to produce enough food for everyone. In addition, we're putting extra effort into packing and preparing packages which arrive at people's home addresses by mail so that they're able to stay indoors as much as possible. In this way, with our partner Croatian Post, we're supporting the activities of the competent institutions aimed at limiting the spread of coronavirus,'' said Marin Pucar, CEO of Podravka.

Ivan Čulo, CEO of Croatian Post, pointed out: ''We feel a duty to help when we have the opportunity. Podravka and the Post Office will jointly provide a great ordering service through Yellow Click for the delivery of food packages. Postmen are always available to people, especially in times of crisis. All of our employees have been provided with protective equipment, extreme care is taken in regard to hygiene and the number of handling of individual shipments is limited. We'll transport the packages in completely safe conditions.''

Make sure to follow our dedicated section for rolling information and updates in English on coronavirus in Croatia.

The current coronavirus crisis is continuing to tighten its grip on the global economy and while many Croatian companies scramble for access (or basic understanding) of the recently introduced government measures, Podravka is rewarding its staff.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 21st of March, 2020, the management of the internationally recognised Croatian brand Podravka has made the praiseworthy decision to pay a one-off reward in the amount of 1,000 kuna net as a sign of gratitude to Podravka's employees who have been working extremely hard throughout March this year, given the increased orders and strain related to the still unfolding coronavirus situation.

Entirely unselfish day-to-day engagement, especially at this time of an increased volume of work due to the need to increase production and the further marketing of Podravka's products, the Croatian company's management board decided to reward an additional 1,000 kuna net to their employees for the month of April, after paying a regular salary for the month of March.

"In this way, we would like to once again thank our employees for their dedicated hard work, especially to those who, during this current coronavirus situation, conscientiously and engagedly do their jobs and make Podravka's products available to everyone across stores.

Our employees, from the production and logistics units, as well as from other departments, who together with these units have organised themselves over these days to work in three or four shifts, are precisely those who most deserve for life to not stop entirely, so in this way, we additionally want to show them that we appreciate their hard work and efforts,'' said Marin Pucar, Podravka's CEO, when remarking on making this decision.

It is worth recalling that the management of Podravka has already rewarded its employees from certain units who, in the summer months of previous years, had to cope with increased work performance due to meeting the increased market needs of the typically demanding tourist season.

Make sure to follow our dedicated section for all you need to know about coronavirus in Croatia. Follow our business page for more on Croatian companies and products.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 20th of January, 2020, the Croatian pavilion at Green Week 2020, held in the German capital city of Berlin, was visited on Monday by German Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture Julia Klöckner, accompanied by Ambassadors of various European Union countries, and the Croats among their ''ranks'' was the Croatian Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, Gordan Bakota, State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Tugomir Majdak and Croatian Chamber of Commerce President Luka Burilović.

On that occasion, and as we previously reported, Croatia's much loved Podravka hosted them in their Green Week 2020 national restaurant, where visitors of the fair enjoy daily specialities of Croatian cuisine prepared by Podravka's culinary promoters.

On the menu of Podravka's restaurant there is a rich selection of traditional Croatian meat and fish dishes as well as desserts, and Podravka's pašticada and Lino Lada cake were special hits among the guests, which didn't leave even the most high ranking of guests indifferent.

The unforgettable taste of the pašticada, along with the superior quality of the meat, results in a characteristic sauce, which in this case is enriched with irreplaceable Vegeta and other Podravka spices, while lovers of chocolate desserts are happy to taste a cake with the amazing Lino Lada chocolate creme as its secret ingredient. It is no wonder, therefore, that hundreds of Lino Lada cakes were made in the early days of Green Week 2020.

The promotion of traditional specialties of Croatian gastronomy is an important part of Podravka's presentation at one of the most important fairs of agriculture and the food industry in the world.

Green Week 2020 takes place from the 17th to the 26th of January, 2020 at the Berlin Fair, and Croatia is a proud partner country this year. As many as 1,800 exhibitors from sixty countries across the world will be present at the fair, which will showcase more than 100,000 agricultural and food products in total.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for more on Green Week 2020.

The Berlin Fair, one of the largest in the world, is a great stage and opportunity to promote Croatian products. Green Week 2020 has already seen an appearance from Croatia's beloved Podravka in the form of a reception for 3500 people.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 17th of January, 2020 the Republic of Croatia is a partner of one of the world's most important fairs of agriculture and food industry, Green Week 2020, which takes place in the German capital city of Berlin from January the 17th to the 26th, 2020, and Podravka, as a leading Croatian food company, is actively participating in the activities of representing Croatia as a country.

In addition to presenting and presenting a wide range of its products, Podravka is also participating at Green Week 2020 as a promoter of Croatian cuisine by organising a national restaurant offering traditional Croatian dishes, which was also visited by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on the first day of the fair, accompanied by Marin Pucar, Podravka's CEO and his various associates.

The first opportunity to taste the specialties of Croatian cuisine prepared daily by Podravka's culinary promoters at Green Week 2020 began at the very start of the fair, many guests enjoyed a festive reception on the occasion of the opening of the fair on the 16th of January, where 3500 guests and delegations from around 100 countries enjoyed Croatian delicacies.

For this occasion, 4000 servings of meals and 12,000 cakes were prepared exclusively from Croatian ingredients - including a massive 2500 kilograms of meat and 1000 kilograms of fish. The taste of the rich meat and fish menu was spiced with the indispensable Vegeta. Dolcela, Žito, Lino Lada and Čokolino are also all present with their cake production. With ham and kulen as recognisable Croatian trump cards, Green Week 2020's international guests were delighted by Podravka's offer.

In cooperation with numerous partners and Croatian producers, the daily offer of Podravka's Croatian national restaurant at Berlin's Green Week 2020 will feature a rich menu with selected dishes from across all Croatian regions; a selection of top cheeses, prosciutto, kulen, fish dishes, various dumplings and a variety of cakes and other desserts.

"The Berlin Fair, one of the largest in the world, is a great stage and opportunity to promote Croatian products, strengthen economic ties with Germany and other European countries and further step into markets around the world. Podravka also participates in international fairs of this importance with great pleasure in promoting Croatian traditional cuisine. This contributes to strengthening the recognition of Croatia as a tourist and gastronomic destination,'' said Marin Pucar, CEO of Podravka.

Green Week 2020 in Berlin, featuring Croatian manufacturers among more than 1,800 exhibitors and over 100,000 products from all around the world, is an opportunity for the additional promotion of Croatia in the context of the EU Council Presidency throughout the first half of 2020.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and Made in Croatia pages for much more.

ZAGREB, December 17, 2019 - A ceremony marking 60 years of production of internationally renowned Croatian spice brand Vegeta was held in the Podravka company in Koprivnica on Monday.

In attendance were Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković as well as numerous ministers.

Plenković congratulated the hosts "on Vegeta's first 60 years," saying that the spice, aside from being part of Podravka's identity, was also part of everyone's everyday life.

"I also congratulate Podravka on its excellent business results as well as on your employees' excellent salaries," he said, praising the quality of Podravka's other products.

Jandroković said the 72-year-old Podravka was the pride of the Croatian economy. "It adapts to global trends and is also an innovative company," he said, recalling that the company with 1,800 employees had a line of as many as 1,000 products.

Speaking of Vegeta, Podvarka Board chairman Marin Pucar said it was invented by professor Zlata Bartl and her team. "It was such a big invention that even global multinational companies, after Podravka, decided to launch similar products."

Vegeta is Croatia's most successful brand and is sold on 50 markets around the world.

More news about Podravka can be found in the Business section.

July 6, 2019 - For its 60th birthday celebration, Vegeta invited its consumers to become part of the brand’s history by taking part in a competition to create a unique Vegeta label. The winners of the competition, the 60 best-designed labels, were presented by a six-member jury on Thursday at the renowned Adriatic Grašo restaurant in Split.

Krunoslav Bešvir, director of Podravka's Business Culture Program, revealed interesting stories from the 60-year history of Vegeta and presented a birthday campaign titled "Vegeta! 100% Original! 100% Mine!":

“A 60th birthday is the ideal opportunity to freshen up the exterior because just as Vegeta encourages creativity in the kitchen, we also wanted its users to test their creativity by creating a label for its packaging."

Marinka Akrap, Director of Corporate Marketing and Communications of Podravka, presented the outstanding results of the campaign.

“We are delighted by the responsiveness of our consumers and the creativity they have shown in the design of the label. Over a month, more than 32,000 design proposals were received. 

Conducted in the markets of Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia, the competition saw applications from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, USA, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Kosovo, Canada, Greece and Norway.”

"Vegeta looks better than ever," said Davor Bruketa, Creative Director of the Bruketa&Žinić&Grey agency, expressing satisfaction with the design creations from all over the world, allowing users to express themselves creatively.

Aleksandar Šekuljica and Ivan Tandarić of the fashionable ELFS said: "Since design is our livelihood, it was a pleasure to review and evaluate the works and we believe that we have really chosen the best. Additionally, through designing T-shirts with the elements of the Vegeta, which are parts of our new collection, we have been allowed to give Vegeta a vision as a brand.”

Petar Grašo recalled that Vegeta accompanied him through life:” "Although lately, due to numerous obligations, I do not have time to cook as before, whenever I use Vegeta it is a safe road to deliciousness, so I am very pleased to join forces in the future and to work together on new projects.”

The creators of the 60 best-designed labels will be particularly rewarded, and all of the design proposals received in the competition will be printed on the jars and on sale from October in the markets covered by the birthday campaign.

You can find the list of winners here.

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

“The new vision of Podravka, which began with the reorganisation and the launch of new business programmes, has fully met expectations in business results in 2018. Concentration on traditional markets and faster innovation cycles with key brands and categories have brought the company the best operating result in its long history,” said Podravka's CEO Marin Pucar after the company announced business results for the past year, reports Večernji List on February 26, 2019.

Sales revenues of the Podravka Group in 2018 amounted to 4.2 billion kuna, about 3% more than the previous year. Net profits reached a record 205.7 million kuna, while the year before they amounted to 18.2 million.

The business report points out that this is the best result in 70 years of Podravka history. “The key element is that last year we focused on our own brands and traditional markets. In the five previous years, Podravka grew through acquisitions and had no organic growth, so higher production and sales of its own products had a positive impact on the entire company”, said Pucar.

After the shutdown operations in China and Africa, the markets that were seen to be unprofitable, the innovation-development cycle has given birth to super-projects, and the company saw significant growth in the Food division.

The second segment of the group, Pharmaceuticals, generated 896.9 million kuna in sales revenue, representing a growth of 3.4% or 29.4 million kuna compared to the previous year. Podravka’s own brands grew by 2.5%, mainly due to the continued growth of Russia's market demand and the expansion of distribution in the markets of Central Europe.

Podravka says that the most substantial increase in revenues, in the amount of 71.5 million kuna, was recorded by the Adria region. In the Central Europe region, sales revenue rose by 30.2 million kuna, in Western Europe and overseas countries by 13 million and in Eastern Europe by 5.6 million.

Podravka share price increased by 38.9% in 2018, while local stock indices Crobex and Crobex10 fell by 5.1 and 5.6% respectively. Total indebtedness of the Podravka Group decreased by 303.7 million kuna.

"Today we can say that Podravka can be compared with companies from international markets in key business parameters,” said Pucar. He added that this business year would be more demanding than the previous one, given certain raw material supply disruptions and the fact that the collective agreement has also increased employees' rights. But projects started last year are the guarantor of the company's success, says Pucar.

“The growing number of foreign tourists, the growth and consolidation of the HoReCa (hotels, restaurants, catering) market, and more and more 4-5-star hotels – all this is driving up the demand for quality products that Podravka produces. New products are also being launched in the culinary segment – and if they achieve good results, Podravka will have excellent financial indicators in the coming years as well,” concluded Pucar.

More news about Podravka can be found in the Business section.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Jolanda Rak Šajn).

The fans of good food and wines, journalists Renata Cisar and Mustafa Topčagić, with the help of gastro-specialist Domagoj Jakopović Ribafish, presented an interesting wine-and-culinary concept called “Wine and Spoons” at the Aperitivo Bar in Zagreb.

Photo by Marko Čolić

Their goal is to promote the habit of consuming wine with boiled and stewed meals, which has been entirely neglected in Croatia. In making this idea happen, they were much helped by Podravka and its culinary promoters Dražen Đurišević, Zlatko Sedlanić and Zoran Delić. The popular chefs presented the Vegeta Maestro and Vegeta Natur mono-spices through six courses of meals that pair well with top-quality wines. They used the following spices: Vegeta Natur, Vegeta Natur Vegetable Cube, Vegeta Chilli, Vegeta Maestro Garlic, Vegeta Maestro Majoram, Vegeta Maestro Pepper, Vegeta Maestro Red Pepper, Vegeta Maestro Parsley, Vegeta Maestro Rosemary, Vegeta Maestro Basil, Vegeta Maestro Bay Leaf and Vegeta Maestro Cinnamon.

They created recipes and prepared delicious meals “for the spoon” for about fifty guests who, before enjoying the food and wine, refreshed their palates with Feravino's sparkling wines Grasecco and Francesca, and aperitif liqueurs from Drinkoteka – based on honey, hazelnut and prunes.

And what was offered to eat and drink at the Aperitivo bar by its exceptional host Pepo Zorić? It all started with the Zagorje soup, which was accompanied by the joyful 2017 Škrlet Ilovčak. Spoons remained in the hands to welcome the next dish – štrukle in a soup – along with the elegant 2017 Pinkert Rose. Then, seafood risotto was imaginatively paired with the continental 2017 Trdenić Pinot Blanc, while the wild game goulash was lavishly “doused” with Poletti's six-year-old Cabernet Sauvignon. “Her Majesty” sarma was solemnly accompanied by the Feravino’s "French-style" red coupage 2015 Miraz Cuvée. The most persistent guests managed to save themselves for the delicious chocolate dessert, which was readily welcomed by two Raak fruit wines – made from three types of black currant and two varieties of sour cherry.

At the end of the pleasant evening, the media representatives expressed their enthusiasm for, as well as their critical opinion about, pairing the “for the spoon” meals with wines and spices. According to their votes, the best combination was the 2013 Poletti Cabernet Sauvignon wine with the goulash made of wild game and spices Vegeta Chilli, Vegeta Maestro Pepper and Vegeta Maestro Bay Leaf.

The get-together at the Aperitivo bar continued after the official part of the promotion of the “Wine and Spoons” event, and the organisers announced that we would soon meet at another venue with a similar, but a slightly different selection of food and wines.

More news on Croatian wines can be found in the Lifestyle section.

Remaining hotos by Goran Šerbula

When Marin Pucar took over Podravka back in February last year, he comically stated, "Once you go Podravka, you're always Podravka!"

As Marina Sunjerga/VL/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 11th of November, 2018, Pucar experienced returning to the large domestic food company, at which he worked for twelve years, very emotionally. Pucar also has many goals and plans set up for the huge company to aim for.

Pucar's big plans for Podravka were soon realised because the Koprivnica-based food company achieved net operating profits of a massive 186 million kuna during the first nine months of 2018, which is the best result and the highest operating profit in Podravka's long history. These sparkling financial results saw employee salaries increase by 1000 kuna and the company get closer to reaching its goal of being a food business consolidator in Croatia, these praiseworthy achievements brought Pucar to his very well-deserved nomination for businessman of the year for 2018.

It is also important to point out his engagement in resolving the crisis in Agrokor from his position as the president of the association of Agrokor's suppliers, which acted uniquely to protect the interests of domestic companies.

''Podravka is a very good company'', said Pucar when he came to the head of the company, but added that it can and should be better because Podravka is much more than just its numerous brands and products.

In just a year and a half of his mandate, Marin Pucar has achieved excellent results with his team. He announced Vegeta's strong development, involving a wide range of products. In his vision and strategy, Vegeta will be branded completely with the culinary field, and all kinds of dishes.

''That's the aim, if we succeed, and we believe that we will,'' Pucar said in an interview for Večernji list.

''We'll secure Vegeta for another hundred years, and add new, additional value for Podravka,'' added Pucar.

Among the priorities, Pucar also emphasised the improvement of the rights and the material conditions of employees as the company's most valuable resource. ''Without satisfied workers, there can be no successful company,'' Pucar said. Namely, The salaries of the lowest paid employees in Podravka will increase by about 1000 kuna a month, which is one of the moves other entrepreneurs must follow if they truly want to retain quality workers.

The lowest wage in Podravka now amounts to 4,000 kuna per month. Through a collective contract, Podravka's employees have been granted a jubilee reward, and the company will pay them 1000 kuna per year for voluntary pension savings, which will eventually provide them with larger pensions when they retire. One of the goals that Pucar has set in front of him is, as stated, to position Podravka as a consolidator for the food industry, as well as the generator of the development of domestic agricultural production.

Accordingly, the company is expanding its cooperation with subcontractors and domestic OPGs to ensure that by the year 2022, its global brands such as Vegeta are secure. To achieve this goal requires a two to three year investment cycle, but the capacities needed by Podravka are sufficient to trigger a serious segment of Croatian agriculture. Part of the financing of these investments was secured by the company from EU funds.

Podravka itself has an impressive investment potential of around 200 million euro, so new acquisitions could realistically be expected. The company's presence on numerous traditional markets such as that of Poland, Hungary, and Russia, is set to increase. Pucar also played an important role in the rehabilitation of the formerly ailing Agrokor Group from the position of the president of the Association of Agrokor's suppliers.

The challenge was to protect and preserve the rights and interests of Agrokor's suppliers, while at the same time not compromise the position of Agrokor, and Agrokor's giant Konzum as the largest domestic retail chain. Unlike various other companies, Podravka didn't stop its deliveries to the then suffering Konzum, thereby confirming its responsibility for the continuation of Konzum's operations and the preservation of jobs.

The successful running of this extremely complex process resulted in the stabilisation of Agrokor's operations, a large part of the Croatian economy, and the preservation of Agrokor's supplier stability.

Otherwise, Pucar has spent most of his career in the food industry. He started his professional career at Gavrilović back in 2001, and one year later, he was in Podravka's meat industry, Danica, where he was the director of sales, marketing and development. He quickly moved to Podravka's high position of director for the Croatian market, and from 2008 to 2012, he was a member of the management of the company.

After five years with Podravka, he went to Zvečevo, which he led before returning as Podravka's main man.

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Click here for the original article by Marina Sunjerga/VL on Poslovni Dnevnik