Croatian companies will participate with their products at the ‘European Food Products – Gourmet Food’ fair, which will be held organized by the largest Spanish retail chain El Corte Ingles from February 26 to April 5 in Spain and Portugal at 89 sales locations, as highlighted at the presentation of Croatian exporting companies in APIU.
After lengthy negotiations and meetings with representatives of this retail chain, which was initiated in cooperation with our Embassy in Spain by the Agency for Promotion of Exports and Investments at the beginning of last year, the participation of eight Croatian producers of food products and alcoholic beverages has been successfully arranged. Thus, at the fair, where Croatia is the partner country, Kraš, Gavrilović, Klara Marić, Franck, Zvečevo, Jamnica, Maraska, and Istravino will be presented. El Corte Ingles is the second largest retail chain in the European Union, which has 89 hypermarkets and supermarkets in the markets of Spain, Portugal, the Balearic Islands, and the Canary Islands. The main idea of presenting our products at the fair is to familiarize the Spanish market with Croatian food and alcoholic items through tastings at the stands of the strongest Spanish retail chain.
Depending on the sales of products at the fair, the Spaniards will decide whether to take them on and allow them for permanent sale, stated Nina Vukošić, senior advisor of the export support sector. This means that after the fair, the leaders of this ‘Spanish Konzum’, based on insights into the results of the fair, or according to the expressed interest of visitors for specific products from Croatia, will enter into concrete business negotiations with certain companies. In other words, some members of our business expedition in Spain will ‘fall out of the game’, although according to Slobodan Mikac, director of the agency for promoting exports and investments, the chances for such a thing are small for several reasons. The Spaniards have conducted quite a detailed study of our market and products and have reason to invite exactly these exporters, and on the other hand, the fact that Croatia is the partner country at this fair speaks for itself, emphasizes Mikac. The cost of such a presentation amounts to 70 thousand euros, which is just the amount needed to cover the advertising of the respective products in Spain, while the total costs rise to 150 thousand euros, highlights Mate Zmijarević, director of the export support sector. (Tomislav Vidaković)
