During last holidays in Croatia we asked for a natural drink in a bar, and they offered us a glass of water and a small nice envelope/bag. We had to pour the content into the water and mix. No sugar was needed because the syrup was mixed with natural honey. A really good tasting and refreshing drink! Behind this product are Mirela and Paul Švaić from Jablanovac farm near Zagreb, backed by over ten years of experience in the tourism industry.
It all started after a car ride to Slovenia, led by the love for nature, wild plants and healthy food. They decided to produce 5-10,000 gallons of elderberry syrup and to bottle it, and a friend of them who works in the hospitality industry suggested to pack the syrup in disposable bags (similar to mail envelopes): it was the winning idea. Just six months later, the elderberry syrup was sold in 110 bar of Zagreb and 40 in other parts of Croatia and committed them to work full time. In summer time only in Zagreb the daily consume is over a thousand pouches of juice.
“Paul has always looked forward”, remembers his mother Anka: “He was still a teenager in the 90s, when he realized that organic was the future of agriculture. After much insistence, seven years ago we picked up all my savings (€ 20,000 ) and we decided to buy the land. Paul bought four acres of land, and so the “biological adventure” began”, Anka says.
“For the logo design and implementation we have been helped a lot by my friend Neven Rinčić. He suggested to recall the image of the stamps, because Agropošta is designed as a service to ship natural ingredients to the final consumer. For now we only produce syrups, but soon our offer will expand. Product quality is not measured in liters” – says Paul.
“We are aware that the peculiarity of our product lies in the recipe and in the quality of production. Industrial units would not be able to keep the local flavor” – says Mirela’s mother Jadranka Fiket.
“Raw material’s quality is important to us because it’s the main condition for a good final product” Mirela says. The harvest begins in May in warmer regions and lasts until mid of June in the colder ones.
This is followed by an intense distribution on the market in view of the summer. Regarding the possibility of expanding production outside the family context, Paul resolutely responds that he is not interested in mass production. “The important thing for us is to keep the image and the quality of the brand. We have entered into many bars and it is our best reference for more business” he says.
So if you travel to Croatia, remember to test a natural bio Agropošta syrup. For more information or to get in touch with Mirela and Paul, just follow the link below.