Marijan Marjanović, Stancija St. Antonio: They looked at us strangely when we replaced all the machines with new ones

The olive groves of Stancija St. Antonio are located in the southern area of Vodnjan, at an altitude of 60 to 80 meters. From the two-hundred-year-old trees, which were found in 2008 when the company was established, the majority of the seven thousand olive trees of indigenous varieties were obtained in an area where olive groves were recorded even in Roman times.

Stancija St. Antonio harvests about a hundred tons of olives annually, producing around 15 tons of oil, but since the director and board member Marijan Marjanović aims for full yield, the quantity of oil from the San Antonio brand will increase over the years. He expects to have 40 tons of organic extra virgin olive oil of the highest quality in full production, which already has its place in the markets of all European Union countries, Switzerland, the United States, Russia, and Japan.

Oil is the main product, but there is more

The oil mill was opened in 2014 after Marjanović could not find anyone to accompany him in his efforts and desire to create a high-quality product. He required processing within a few hours after harvesting, production supervision, and a guarantee for organic processing with the flushing of the production system from foreign oil, ensuring that there would be no damage to the oil during production. However, no one could meet these requirements, so he decided to invest in the construction and equipping of the oil mill.

– I realized that we could work according to these principles, including flushing the system from oil, and provide excellent oils for other olive growers. That is why olive growers come to us not only from the vicinity of Vodnjan but also from all over Istria and Kvarner. It all started when my father Milenko Marjanović decided to produce organic vegetables for his family and for sale. From the beginning, he was attracted to olive growing and decided to focus exclusively on it. The family business was established with personal funds, later developing partially thanks to bank loans and credits, and partly due to support from European Union funds.

In the company, my wife Marina Božac Marjanović works in sales and marketing, while my father, as the owner, has an advisory role when needed. We produce four mono-varietal extra virgin olive oils with internationally recognized eco-certification: carbonace, leccino, buža ženska vodnjanska, and istarska bjelica, as well as one blend of various varieties, sweet-sour agrodolce salad made from horn peppers in mild and spicy versions with added chili, jam from kreka (plums), and tomato sauce without additives. Tourists can tour the production facility and oil warehouse and taste all the products of the San Antonio brand. We also offer tastings in Istrian kažun, round stone houses with conical roofs, which is certainly a unique experience – describes Marjanović.

Every olive has a personality

In the olive groves, about ten different varieties of olives grow, so in addition to the aforementioned carbonace, leccino, buža ženska vodnjanska, and istarska bjelica, Stancija St. Antonio has rosignolu, leccio di corno, pendolino, čempresino, and others. Marjanović decided to cultivate four mono-varieties that differ significantly in bitterness, taste, aroma, and intensity of olive oil, while using the others for the Mix San Antonio blend. He does not produce more mono-varietal oils because he is convinced that there is not a significant difference between the other varieties he has.

– The difference is also in the timing of the harvest. Early harvesting is done for mono-varieties that we pick by hand, so in one day, about 500 kilograms of olives arrive at the oil mill for only eight to twelve kilograms of oil per hundred kilograms of olives. The harvest for the Mix San Antonio blend is done later, when the olives reach their best ripeness. At that time, they are half green and half black. In a day, we mechanically harvest five to six tons, obtaining from 12 to 25 kilograms of oil per 100 kilograms of olives.

We purchase raw materials and packaging from domestic producers: we entrust all cardboard packaging, servicing of machines, and vehicles to Croatian companies. We collaborate with domestic companies that produce plant protection products, jointly entering innovations, testing patents, and creating new products for ecological protection against pests and diseases of olives. Since there is no production of machines specialized for olive growing in Croatia, we have to import them, and we also import part of the glass packaging. It is sad that in Croatia, which produces top-quality olive oils, such oils are exported, while poor, low-quality, and uncontrolled olive oils that are often not suitable for human consumption are imported and sold at slightly lower prices than those of high-quality oils – states Marjanović.

Trendsetters

He adds that St. Antonio is a trendsetter because customers in Croatia have only recently started to increasingly seek products with eco-certification. From the beginning, Marjanović opted for organic production and the introduction of innovations in olive growing, such as complete organic processing, methods of processing, and irrigation of olive groves. For irrigation, he has successfully used the ‘drip’ system for fourteen years, as he considers it the best method for growing olives and the terrain. He says that such watering creates a funnel up to sixty centimeters, allowing the olive to take water from depth and root better.

– Ecology is my great love, so the application of an ecological closed cycle without waste has imposed itself. In production, we extract the pit from the pomace, which we use as pellets for heating, and sell the surplus. We deposit the pomace for three years, using algae to promote faster fermentation, thus obtaining high-quality humus. We return vegetative and technical water to the production of pits because the pomace needs to be thinner for the pits to separate more easily. With organic processing, we have not saved, but we do not buy mineral fertilizers because we obtain all nutrients from the pomace.

I would also like to highlight the filtration of oil immediately after processing, which extends the shelf life of the oil by up to two years, preserves quality, and does not lose organoleptic properties. Few olive growers in Croatia filter their oils, and we have been doing it since 2010, when it was a taboo topic in olive-growing circles. Today, in addition to filtering for ourselves, we offer this as a service to all olive growers who process oils in our mill. Since 2009, we have set the trend of producing balanced olive oils, so if the oil is spicy, it also smells intense and has bitterness; nothing ‘sticks out.’ Mild oil has a mild aroma, gentle scent, and weakly expressed bitterness. This has been the trend for the last few years, and we have been producing balanced and rounded olive oils for thirteen years – emphasizes Marjanović.

Revenue jump

Marjanović considers 2015 to be the worst year so far, when due to bad weather, the yield was poor, and they had little oil. They struggled and barely survived that year, but in his opinion, they came out stronger. Last year, he introduced new technology in the oil mill and realized that he could produce more simply and easily and achieve better results.

– We are a small company, so we have to pay attention to many things. We have gradually penetrated the market because the breakthrough must follow the development of the olive grove. It is pointless to break into the market, offering oil to large retail chains if you do not have the quantity. We sell exclusively our olive oil; we do not buy olives and oil. It is out of the question to sell foreign or any other olive oils under our label – Marjanović is determined.

Last year’s revenue reached 491,881 euros, while in 2021, it was 240,452 euros. Marjanović explains such a jump last year by the exceptional processing due to the abundant yield, which was carried out at full capacity, certainly aided by the modernization of the facility. When it snowed in April two years ago, many olive growers had their plantations destroyed, but Marjanović recognized the problem in time, prepared immediately after the snow, and carried out several treatments with boosters, which is why the olives had the expected yield and production. Since they had a lot of their oil in 2021, this allowed him in 2022 to sell oil at full price, without discounts. The profit also increased that year to 112,680 euros because the company processed at full capacity with the same people and nearly the same costs, unlike in 2021.

Inflation? Nothing new!

He assesses that Stancija St. Antonio will sell oil again this year until the new harvest because there is less than ten percent of the produced oil in stock, they have entered new markets, found new partners, and retail chains for product placement. Therefore, business this year is going as planned; processing is yet to come, so he cannot make a serious calculation for that, but Marjanović expects a season with 80 percent processing intensity. Thanks to the fact that not much hail has fallen in their area, he hopes for a satisfactory olive-growing year.

– During the pandemic, we sold more than in previous years during the same period because people started turning to domestic and healthy products, which includes olive oil. We did not stop any work. Olive growing is a job that is done outdoors; there is no working from home. At that time, our online store became more active, which continues to this day. Inflation, however, is nothing new. One must know how to cope with it; this is not anything terrible. We raised prices in 2021, but only for the Mix San Antonio blend oil, which is the most price-acceptable for customers.

Our mono-varietal oils have had the same price for ten years. Others have raised prices two or three times, so now their warehouses are full of unsold oil. The crisis will likely deepen; it cannot not affect Croatia, but we will probably get through it without major problems. We have prevented all threats in the olive grove and oil mill that we could. From external threats, there could be an escalation of war or unstable geopolitical situations, but I do not think about that because I feel powerless. I do not want to burden myself with that; instead, I think about how to make a top-quality product. In olive growing, one must look far into the future because all processes take a lot of time. Thus, in the next ten years, we will decuple our profit and sales – Marjanović is clear.

Utilizing incentives

In developing the company, Marjanović relies heavily on new investments, drawing money from the EU, finding new customers, and introducing innovations in harvesting, processing, packaging, and design. Even ten years after opening the oil mill, he is replacing all machines with new ones, which some find strange, he says, because the same machines operate for forty years here. However, he is aware that investments are necessary for development and that new machines, which are the pinnacle of technology, are needed to maintain quality and success. Due to uncertainty with electricity prices, he decided to apply for a solar power plant project of 40 kW.

– We constantly utilize all possible incentives that we can draw: for land rental, restoration of dry stone walls, soil treatment with pheromone traps, for sold oils, and we have also utilized incentives for damage caused by the corona crisis. We also use incentives for rural development when establishing plantations, reconstruction and modernization of irrigation, modernization of the oil mill, machines, and tools. The amounts vary, from a few thousand euros for analyses and several tens of thousands of euros for machines to several hundred thousand euros for the facility – said Marjanović.

Stancija St. Antonio has five employees, and as needed, it hires external collaborators and seasonal workers. Currently, there is no shortage of employees as the company is a fifteen-minute drive from Pula, which is an excellent source of labor.