January the 24th, 2023 - The Varazdin company Koka has become the very first company based in the Republic of Croatia to receive the Proven quality - Croatia (Dokazana kvaliteta - Hrvatska) label for its poultry meat.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Varazdin company Koka was the first to receive and use the aforementioned label for its poultry meat, which proves that the product was really produced within the framework of Croatian fattening capacities and the animals were fed with purely domestic grain.

Upon visiting the Varazdin company Koka's factory, Minister of Agriculture Marija Vuckovic noted that the first applicants for the same label were Croatian apple producers, followed by associated producers in the vegetable sector, egg producers, and those in meat processing.

"Producers in the pork sector are still in the process of getting their products marked with this label, and I'm looking forward to the readiness of our internationally recognised producer Vindija to take over and develop the Proven quality - Croatia label for domestically produced milk," said Vuckovic.

She also stated that the label that Koka's products carry from now on is indisputable proof that everything within that product has been produced right here in the Republic of Croatia according to exact and stringent specifications, from the breeding to the laying of the eggs to one-day-old chicks and their fattening up, all the way to the raising of the birds and food that they were fed on.

"It's a ''from field to table'' concept that promotes short supply chains and offers honest information about quality food to all consumers," emphasised Vuckovic, stating that slightly less than 700 million kuna has been contracted in the area of Varazdin County from the Rural Development Programme which offers funds for different investment projects and various types of support.

For more on Croatian companies and products, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

April the 4th, 2022 - The Varazdin Ekos Holding company is among the ranks of the most stable Croatian companies despite the state having more or less totally ''forgotten about them'', according to its founder.

As Jutarnji/Novac writes, the Varazdin Ekos holding, one of the most stable Croatian companies, is now under new management. The founder and man who brought Ekos Holding to the wholesale confectionery throne, Hrvoje Vojvoda, once the mayor of Varazdin, has been replaced by his son Josip, and the biggest changes they faced took place in Ekos pekarnica, the most important daughter company of Ekos, holding a 75 percent share in their revenue.

Last year ended with 100.2 million kuna in revenue, the year before with 80 million kuna, and the Varazdin Ekos Holding company is growing year by year.

Josip Vojvoda has always surrounded himself with women in business. Much like his father, the other bosses who had been building the company since 1990 have now also retired. The new president had to elect some new people. He appointed only four women to the management of the Ekos bakery, all of them under the age of 40, and Josip is convinced that these new bosses are the best for a new, more modern Ekos Holding.

Ekos recently embarked on a major challenge, the construction of a modern plant in the neighbouring county of Medjimurje.

''Six thousand tonnes of cakes come out of Ekos every year, and with this new plant, that number will be three times higher. From back in 2012 until today, the company has been growing steadily, the confectionery part is our core business and we can all be happy here that we're engaged in this business. Confectionery is the pinnacle of every food industry and always brings something new with it, it also brings what is old is back into fashion, but in some sort of new version. We've shown ourselves good in overcoming new challenges,'' stated Josip Vojvoda.

He is young, just 38 years old, is married to wife Zeljka, who is also employed by Ekos, and has two daughters, Eva (10) and Vita (2). He has a degree in economics and grew up within the Varazdin Ekos Holding company's realm. At one point, he and a friend, whose father is a business partner and co-owner of Ekos Holding, decided to start their own business. They founded the company Agrofood and were engaged in the sale of fruits and vegetables from local farms. They did well and when the company established itself on the market, the "renegade" sons sold the company to Ekos Holding.

The Varazdin Ekos Holding company is also specific in many other ways. The company is constantly growing, their revenues are high and stable, and the company has been at the same address since its founding way back in 1990. In an old, but renovated beautiful Art Nouveau one-story house, sandwiched between two similar ones in the city centre. There is a bread production plant in the yard. It’s like it’s a small manufactory, not a million-dollar company. But it is precisely this unpretentious charm that distinguishes Ekos from many other companies of that same rank. Although a well-known European player in the field of confectionery, Ekos is still like a family confectionery in its hometown of Varazdin.

The state has forgotten about them...

''We collaborated a lot with Robert Hromalic, bought recipes from him and he educated our pastry chefs with some new recipes. Otherwise, we just work on continuous education. A few weeks ago, six of our pastry chefs were in training at the famous Richmond confectionery school in Lucerne. The global trend in confectionery is the vegan, gluten-free and premium segment, where ingredients must be from proven sources. We definitely stand out from the competition there, each of our cakes has an RSPO biocertificate, which means that children aren't abused in the growing of the cocoa,'' said Vojvoda.

The state has forgotten them in everything related to EU funds, and as an industry, the Varazdin Ekos Holding company cannot withdraw even one single euro because it does not belong to anyone.

''The sector of nakery and confectionery, obviously, isn't particularly interesting to anyone. We're proverbial orphans. On the other hand, we marvel at imported, cheap products made with European money. Here in Croatia, when they wrote out all of the aid programmes, they left our industry out totally. We applied to the Ministry of Agriculture, but we had to prove that the cake is a product made from fruits and vegetables, which we failed to do. I'd need to bite my tongue hundreds of times when I'd see that we have such a quality product that is increasingly being exported, and the Ministry hasn't even got as much as a listening ear for us,'' he said.

Since they could not get an incentive, they've been financing the investment themselves, and partly had to borrow.

Recently, the directors of all major companies in the industry - Ekos, Team Zip, Cakovec Mills, Dubravica and others - went together to the Ministry of Agriculture, only to find out that when the programmes were written, the bakery and confectionery industry wasn't included in them.

"We're not even in the new envelope for the next ten years. They said they were sorry about that,'' concluded Josip Vojvoda.

For more, make sure to check out our business section.

November the 19th, 2021 - The Varazdin startup Identyum is the first and currently the only company in the Republic of Croatia to possess a special certificate, commonly referred to as the GDPR certificate.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Varazdin startup Identyum Consortium, the creator of the Identyum digital ID wallet, is the first in all of Croatia to be accredited with the prestigious ISO 27701 certificate, also known as the "GDPR certificate for companies".

It confirms that the Varazdin startup Identyum manages the security of personal data of its users in accordance with best information security practices and is fully compliant with the provisions of the GDPR, ie the General Regulation on Personal Data Protection.

"For Identyum, this certificate is of particular importance because it proves that the protection of personal data of users is an absolute priority, which raises the level of trust of end users that their data will be protected," they said from the startup, which is celebrating three years of business this November.

This latest accreditation is a supplement to the ISO 27001 certificate, which the Varazdin startup Identyum met the criteria for back in August this year. It is designed for companies that manage and process users' personal data, and requires them to address specific risks, including those related to personal data and privacy. ''This achievement confirms the seriousness with which we treat information security within our company. Our internal processes are strictly adjusted to the highest international security standards,'' said Identyum's director Robert Ilijas.

According to the ISO Survey for the year 2020, 321 companies in Croatia were certified to the ISO 27001 standard last year, but so far only Identyum has been certified to the ISO 27701 standard.

Their 21st century digital ID card allows people to sign digital documents using their mobile devices and store personal information. In doing so, Identyum's system is designed so that it cannot access the personal data of users stored in their ID wallets. The specified data is always under the exclusive control of end users because during each storage they are encrypted with the user's PIN, making them inaccessible to anyone, until the user explicitly allows access to that personal data, meaning that they must first give consent and enter the PIN, allowing the decryption of their data for exactly the recipient to whom they allowed access.

Last year, the Varazdin startuo Identyum was also the first in all of Croatia and the region to receive a license from the Croatian National Bank (CNB) to provide account information services. They have thus successfully completed the process of “passporting” their AISP license and enrolling in the EBA Electronic Register. A company licensed as an AISP, after obtaining explicit consent from the end user, may link to their bank account and use their bank details to provide other financial services.

After fulfilling all of the stringent the conditions, Identyum was able to provide information services in 30 European countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Latvia, Lithuania , Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia and of course Croatia.

They also announced that they will present even more good news in the next few months, and the goal, as they conclude, is to contribute to the ongoing digital transformation of Croatia.

For more, make sure to check out Made in Croatia.

January 4, 2020 – A map showing production across the former Yugoslavia details the sustained prosperity of many Croatian favourites as some of the strongest Croatian brands are shown not only to have survived but have succeeded following independence

Media across Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia have surprised younger readers and reminded older readers with the publication of a map detailing production in the former Yugoslavia. While this trip down memory lane has caused a range of reactions across the countries of the former republic, looking at the map from a purely Croatian perspective gives some enlightening information. Namely, many of the strongest Croatian brands visible on the map are recognisable today. Some of the strongest Croatian brands not only survived independence but have since grown.

Bajadera - one of the most popular products made by Zagreb-based chocolate and confectionery manufacturers Kraš

Zagreb-based chocolate and confectionery manufacturers Kraš, Požega-based confectionery and drinks manufacturers Zvečevo, oil company INA, Koprivnica-based food company Podravka and Koprivnica-based pharmaceuticals company Belupo, vitamin drink Cedevita, Varaždin-based food company Vindija, Vukovar shoemakers Borovo, Varaždin clothes designers and manufacturers Varteks and multi-use condiment Vegeta are just some of the strongest Croatian brands that are present on the map. You are still likely to see these brand names on many Croatian high streets. Some have succeeded in reaching further into international markets since Croatian independence.

Croatian-made condiment Vegeta is sold all over the world

Of course, not every brand visible on the map of Yugoslavia production has fared so well. In their coverage of the map, Ri.portal reminds that “Some of the Yugoslav products were used by literally the whole world - ships, cars, planes, trucks, weapons and even computers were produced... However, many of these companies no longer exist or are bankrupt.”

In their coverage of the map, Bosnian website Klix reminds that Croatian shipyards Uljanik in Pula and 3 Maj in Rijeka were at world level and produced large ships for customers from all over the world. Split-based shipyard Brodosplit, which can also be seen on the map, survives to this day.

Croatian vitamin drink Cedevita comes in a range of flavours

Ri.portal goes on to remember that Yugoslavia was one of only five countries in Europe at the time that manufactured its own computers. “Probably the most famous is the Galaxy, while the first computer produced was the CER-10,” they say. One of the Yugoslav computer makers on the map, popular in the late 1970s, was Digitron, based in Buje in Istria.

Sadly, not all of the strongest Croatian brands have made it until today. Famous tractor and agriculture equipment manufacturer Tomo Vinković of Bjelovar is no longer in production. Their famously-reliable machines are much in-demand on the secondhand market. Two new tractor manufacturers, Hittner doo and the Prima tractor factory still make tractors in Bjelovar.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marta Duic writes on the 8th of September, 2019, the famous Vindija from Varaždin is celebrating sixty years of doing business this year, and on the occasion of this grand jubilee, it has launched some brand new Vindi juices. Dubravka Drk Mravlinčić, Vindija's marketing director, points out that product branding is the key to quality communication with the market, an important factor in customer trust and loyalty, and the basis of successful business.

''We believe that we have proven ourselves in this segment on more than one occasion as ''Vindija Quality'' has become and continues to be important in every brand, including Vindi juices that are recognised by generations of consumers in Croatia and across the region.

As we're celebrating a great sixty years of business this year, during which we've grown from a small town dairy company into one of the regional leaders in the food industry, we wanted to show the market once again that we are totally different from the rest and have made a big step forward in the category of Vindi juices - from rebranding, functionality and types of packaging to the marketing campaign,'' explains Drk Mravlinčić.

In designing the new packaging design, she says, she thought that the packaging of the product was more than just a physical characteristic, that the quality of the design reflected the values ​​of the company behind it and represented a space of communication with existing and new customers. The fact is that a good product in recognisable and quality packaging will always satisfy the customers, which is why they came up with the idea of ​​implementing the latest generation of innovative packaging.

''The whole process required significant investment in the manufacturing facility, resulting in Vindija becoming the first company in the whole of Europe and the fourth in the world to market an innovative one-litre Ultra Edge package with an integrated latest generation of lids that, apart from the visually appealing designs, allow it to be opened in just one move,'' boasted Drk Mravlinčić.

It is a unique piece innovation on the Croatian market that brings the range of Vindija juices to a new level of quality. According to Vindija's marketing director, the new form of packaging provides better visibility and differentiation at points of sale, and it is a modern design that is in line with the latest graphic trends in the world. They have also added the latest generation of lids to the new packaging, allowing them to be opened up in just one step, while its wider outer diameter makes it much easier to refill.

In addition, it is well-known that, across the whole of the Vindija Group, they operate according to the recognised principles of the Global Compact program, which emphasises the importance of protecting the environment. For this reason, Drk Mravlinčić points out, they are additionally proud, since more than 68 percent of Vindija's packaging currently comes from renewable sources, further reducing their carbon footprint in nature. According to Nielsen data for June and July, Vindija's juices are the leading brand in the Total juice category, with the largest sales volume here at home on the Croatian market.

''The biggest challenge of implementing all the innovations within the juice range was to complete the transition as soon as possible and inform our consumers so that they know in a timely manner that their favorite juices on store shelves are waiting for them in new packages, with a new look. For this reason, we've intensified our communication through all available channels, from the point-of-sale, strong online promotion, to a print and television media campaign to further increase our reach,'' says Drk Mravlinčić.

As for Vindija's latest promotional video, she notes that they have set new standards for video content production on the Croatian market as well as on other, regional markets, thus raising the bar and creating new challenges in the juice category.

"Our goal was to awaken emotions and energy, to stimulate sensuality and to create a sense of refreshment that occurs after consuming our juices and to connect it with the refreshed visual identity of the range. A major step forward were the neon elements such as neon makeup and body paints that harmoniously complemented modern music, which in general required a dose of courage - we wanted to show that we're a modern, open-minded company that is evolving in line with changes and market demands and which is regularly focused on innovation throughout the production process,'' pointed out Drk Mravlinčić.

The result is a video clip that differentiates them and sets them apart from the competition, and the reactions are far beyond Vindija's initial expectations.

"Every day, we get consumers with positive reactions, which is ultimately confirmed by our sales results after the launch of the campaign. At the Vindija Group, we've always focused on innovating and modernising our production processes in order to offer the best of quality to the market, which has remained a key segment of our market communication throughout all these years,'' concluded Vindija's marketing director.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for much more on Croatian companies and products.