At the end of April, Mini Dairy Veronika opened its fourth sales location in Split. In total, there are 61, and besides the Split area, it supplies its products to Zagreb and its wider surroundings, as well as the Istria and Kvarner regions. Owner Mladen Šurbek announces the continuation of the expansion of the sales network and product range, in accordance with circumstances and possibilities.
Mini Dairy Veronika has primarily opted for markets as sales points. As they say, markets have always been a symbol of fresh and local, and they offer products either in the form of refrigerated displays or small closed kiosks.
Problems arose during the lockdown when markets were closed, but thanks to the webshop of the partner ‘Zdravo za gotovo’, they began delivering products to customers’ doorsteps. The silver lining was that they realized how many people were interested in their products outside the Zagreb ring, which the family business had relied on the most. This prompted them to consider investing in a refrigerated truck to distribute products to areas where they have not yet reached. If there is an opportunity to finance it partially from EU funds, they may decide to take that step.
Government measures have been very helpful in preserving all jobs. Currently, 210 people are employed, mostly from the surrounding area, and they process 27,000 liters of milk daily, sourced from 130 cooperators in Hrvatsko Zagorje.
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—Without government measures, it would have been difficult, and after the markets reopened, the company began to record growth again. The company is now operating stably, say Mladen’s children Goran and Jelena Šurbek, who have taken over management in recent years, while the founder has ‘settled’ for a passive role. Milk and dairy production has faced difficulties in recent years, but this Desinić family business has shown resilience and has so far withstood all the challenges the economy has faced in the last two years.
– We are relatively a small company, and therefore we are very flexible in our operations, allowing us to react quickly to market changes. We must say that it has been very challenging to balance operations to ensure a constant supply of our products to the market – says the owner of the company.
In previous years, revenue has grown; during the pandemic, it amounted to 87.8 million kuna (in 2019, it was 77.1 million kuna), with a profit of 2.6 million kuna, and last year the company achieved revenue of 85.7 million kuna and a profit of 713 thousand kuna.
They were significantly affected by the Ukrainian crisis, primarily due to rising energy prices, which is the case for every processing industry. For example, natural gas, which is the main energy source in milk processing, has increased by about 400 percent, and logistics costs have also risen significantly for the same reason. They have six trucks for collecting milk and nine for delivering products that operate daily.
And what about investments, we ask them. The brother and sister mention a large investment cycle that began in 2018. They renewed their fleet, installed two filling machines for finished products, upgraded the wastewater treatment device, and improved information and communication technology. The investment value was ten million kuna, half of which was co-financed from EU funds. In the year of the lockdown, they also launched a solar power plant for their own consumption with an installed capacity of 170 kWh worth one million kuna, half of which was also co-financed by the EU.
– This year we plan to start a new investment cycle, primarily in the fleet and production. We estimate that the value of these investments will amount to around ten million kuna – says Jelena.
This is about production automation. Like everyone in the country, they have problems finding labor, especially when it comes to specialists. As Goran says, the company’s headquarters is in Desinić, which is a rural area, making it very difficult to attract new personnel, especially due to migration trends. However, the fact that they managed to preserve all jobs during the pandemic and even hire additional staff last year suggests that these Zagorci are more resilient than one might think at first glance.
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Tomorrow: Why MDK Građevinar invests more money in the administrative building than in a new production facility
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