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MarketPodravka’s food and beverage production activities placeit among the top nutritional companies in SouthEastern, Central, and Eastern Europe.Today, Podravka’sdistribution network covers the area between theAdriatic and the Baltic Sea, thus bringing Podravka closerto customers on the international market.Apart fromproduction and sale of its own brands, Podravka alsohas strategic partners in the region (Nestlé, Heinz, Kras,Adria, Unilever) and it distributes their products throughits own developed network, thus expanding the array ofproducts it can offer to customers.

AchievementsThis eminent company has its own firms and branchesin 17 countries of the world, while production facilitiesare located in Croatia and three other Europeancountries (Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia).During its many years of existence, Podravka hascreated many well known brands, with the most famousone being the staple brand Vegeta, a universal foodadditive.Along with the international recognition ofPodravka’s brands come numerous awards, such as theSuperbrand Polska where Vegeta took 3rd place forrecognition and growth potential in competition with1,000 various brands in a very demanding market.

Podravka employs 7500 workers, and a key role isgiven to employees who, thanks to their knowledge andskills, make the company recognizable amongcompetitors and more successful on the market.Therefore, Podravka and the Zagreb University ofEconomics created a manager academy called POMAKin order to develop, attain, and broaden the managerialknowledge and skills of Podravka’s employees.

In the year 2004, Podravka also collaborated withthe Leeds Metropolitan University and started a newinternational program focused on gaining the latestknowledge on the subject of retailing which is extremelyimportant for the food industry. Every year thecompany increases funds for professional education anddevelops partnerships with major professional educationinstitutions both nationally and internationally. Podravka’starget is to keep the leading role in providingprofessional education for its employees.

HistoryTwo entrepreneurs from the city of Koprivnica, brothersMarijan and Matija Wolf, founded a fruit processingbusiness in 1934, and by 1947 the business becamepublic property and Podravka was given the namewhich is still used today. In 1949, the production of jamand fine marmalade started, and by 1952, new products

were introduced: sweetened fruit, jelly sweets, fruitsyrup, mustard, ketchup, fruit wines, dried vegetables,sterilized green beans, peas, and canned meat. In theyear 1957, Podravka soups hit the market, and in 1958the classic chicken and beef soup production started.The rooster on the Podravka chicken soup became asymbol of quality homemade soup in a bag which wassimple to cook.This was also the year when the chickenand beef soups were first displayed at the Zagreb tradefair. In 1959,Vegeta was introduced as a universalfood additive which is present in over 40countries on all continents today. In 1970,the production of »okolino started,which was followed by otherbaby food with the logo of abear called Lino. In theyear 2002, Podravkatook over twocompanies - Lagris, afood products producerlocated in the CzechRepublic and Slovakia, and ItalIce, a frozen food producerbased in Croatia.Today, Podravka isone the leading food companies withbranches and firms in Central,Eastern, and South EasternEurope.

ProductPodravka offersmodern productswhich are both topquality and simple to use.The products are adjustedto individual national cuisines,while at the same time preservinga specific local flavor.The namePodravka is a synonym for superior food

quality and all products under the Podravka brand nameare a result of a time long tradition, knowledge, and carefor consumer health and well-being. During the years ofits existence, Podravka created numerous marketbrands that were recognized by consumers for theirsuperior quality.The most well known ones are thestaple brand Podravka and Vegeta, a universal foodadditive.Apart from these brands, Podravka also has the

Podravka soups (soups with a forty-year tradition),Fini-Mini (instant soups), Lino (the most famous

children food brand in southeastern Europe),Dolcela (sweetened flour products), Kviki

(snack assortment), Studena (pure springwater), Studenac (pure mineral water),

Fant (food additive), Lagris (rice basedproducts), and many others.

The quality of products andbusiness processes, and

continuous improvement ofbusiness policies isPodravka’s permanentand strategic goal.Thedemands andsatisfaction of buyersand consumers, but alsoof other interestedparties (owners,employees, suppliers,financial institutions, thecommunity), need to bein balance and

systematically communicated through allbusiness processes. For a systematic

management approach,standardization and business process

improvement, a corporate quality controlfunction has been set up.The representatives of Podravka’s corporate

quality control function are active members in thework of foundations dedicated to a systematic approach

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to quality in Croatia: HDK (the Croatian QualitySociety), HDMK (the Croatian Quality ManagersSociety), HZPK (the Croatian Business QualityFoundation), as well as leading European organizationssuch as: EOQ (European Organization for Quality) andEFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management).Podravka’s approach to quality is defined in the QualityPolicy, which is one the charter documents for thesystem of management.

Recent DevelopmentsAsides from investing in its employees, Podravka alsoinvests in new product development and new producttechnologies. In the Danica industrial zone in Koprivnica,along with its cream spread facility, Podravka startedconstruction of a new children’s food and cerealcompany. It is an investment with an estimated value ofalmost 100 million kunas.Also, three years ago,Podravka successfully builta new factory forPodravka meals, whichinclude Podravka soups ina bag, Fant, Fini-Mini instantsoups, semi-finished andfinished meals - Talianetta,and a gastronomicalprogram.The value of theentire investment wasapproximately 120 millionkunas.Along with thefactories, Podravka alsoopened a branch in NewYork last year under theworking name PodravkaInternational USA.Throughthis investment, Podravka istrying to keep a dominantrole in the so-called ethnic segments of the Americanmarket in the food additive category, while alsodeveloping a position on the general market. During thelast year, the fish product brand Eva was purchased. Evais the most famous canned fish brand in southeastEurope, and Podravka’s goal is to take over markets that

are outside this region. It is important to mention newproducts as well, which show that Podravka followsglobal trends. Some of these are an absolute hit on themarket - »okolino Crunch,Vegeta pikant, »okolinocream spread, Lino children’s food with pre-biotics, andStudena Roobios ice tea are only a portion of

Podravka’s rich assortment.

PromotionPodravka has always been a marketing andan advertising leader in this region.Promotion is without doubt a verypowerful way to communicate, anddefinitely a very influential way of creatingbrands.A unique and differentcommunication was created throughPodravka’s close relationship with itsconsumers. In order to have clearcommunication with the target group,studies on consumers are continuouslybeing made, there is close cooperation,and consumer wants and unfulfilled needsare recognized so that products andcommunication can be in sync with buyerexpectations. Only candid and usefulcommunication with the target group can

build trust towards our products and createa sense of security and pleasure when our products arebeing used.This is definitely one of the ways to turn anordinary product into a brand. Not only do we listen toconsumer wants and needs, but we also do not wish todisturb them with unnecessary information presented atthe wrong place.Therefore, Podravka effectively

implements its Integrated Marketing Communication.Also, within the Marketing organization there is aspecialized Market Communication service which is incharge of consistency and efficiency, and promotioninvestments justification, according to consumer wantsand needs.

Brand ValuesPodravka is a company with a heart whose mission is tocreate high quality products with a name that wins overconsumer and spender trust.

The vision of Podravka is to be the leading foodcompany when it comes to knowledge, consumerrelations, and revenue among the companies located inSoutheastern, Central, and Eastern European countries.

Podravka’s goal is not solely to make profits, but alsoto satisfy other key segments of running a business.Therefore, several norms have been accepted and theyare Quality Policy, Client and Consumer SatisfactionPolicy, and Corporate Policy.

www.podravka.hr

PodravkaIn 2003, Podravka and the Zagreb University ofEconomics created POMAK (the Podravka ManagerAcademy).

Euromoney, one of Europe's most influential financialmagazines, awarded Podravka with the Award forBusiness Excellence in 2005.

In 2006, Podravka became the first Croatianmember of the World Business Forum.

Podravka's annual “Feed Me” report won a goldmedal in New York.

In the national “Vidi Web Top 100” competition,Podravka won the award for greatest contributionin Internet technologies.

THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT...

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