The Mavrovic Companies

Drawing from his personal experiences as a professional athlete dedicated to eating well, Zeljko decided to produce top quality, natural food that would provide his fellow Croatians with healthy food choices produced in an environmentally responsible way. Four enterprises, each operating independently, serve as the cornerstones of his business:

• Eco-Estate Mavrovic is a set of organic grain farms that includes two animal farms with pigs, heifers, and calves. It is a limited liability corporation (LLC) with Zeljko as the sole owner.
• Eco-CenterMavrovicisaresearchandeducationcenter.It is an agricultural cooperative with Zeljko as the current sole member-owner, but additional member-owners are being sought.
• Mavrovic Eco-Klara is a bakery. It is a limited liability corporation (LLC) shared 50/50 by Zeljko and Zagreb Bakeries Klara.
• Eco-Mavrovic is a marketing, distribution, and sales company. It is a limited liability corporation (LLC) with Zeljko as the sole owner.

Although each entity is separate, they work together as much as possible. They source from and sell to one another. The marketing firm leverages the Mavrovic name to promote all the businesses and products, from raw grains and meats, to finished breads and processed meat products. “It is interesting to notice,” says Zeljko, “that one- third of our profit comes from the sale of final products and two-thirds from the sale of the Mavrovic brand.”

From his own personal equity and a few small bank loans, Zeljko seeded the company with €1 million (US $1.47 million). He was also able to secure funds from the European Community to build his initial grain silos from SAPARD (Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development). Today, seven years later, the companies employ over 30 local workers and have annual sales exceeding US $9 million per year. With well managed expenses, the cash flow of the businesses appears strong.

Eco-Estate Mavrovic, the original business, is a 400-hectare farm producing organic wheat, barley, ray, millet, corn, and soy. The firm only owns a quarter of the land. About half is leased under a 30-year agreement with the state, and the remainder is privately held. Zeljko quickly realized that just being a grower would not achieve his business goals or enough profit.

“Originally,” Zeljko says, “I only planned to grow organic grains. I educated myself about agriculture by talking to people who had practical experience. Soon I realized that a farmer and raw milk producer benefits the least and gets the smallest piece of the pie. I needed a value-added product. Since bread is the daily food found on the table of every Croatian family, making organic bread, rolls, and cookies was the logical step forward.”

So, in partnership with Zagreb Bakeries Klara, a local bakery, Zeljko created the Mavrovic Eco-Klara bakery. Zeljko manages the production, ingredients, recipes, and labor, while Zagreb Bakeries Klara maintains the actual facility. Under this agreement, all the bakery products are branded under the Mavrovic name.

In early 2009, Eco-Estate’s predominant focus on grain production expanded to include cattle breeding and pig farming. While the animals provide additional products and income sources, Mavrovic’s main interest was “closing the natural cycle of fertilization and food in the agricultural part of our work.”

The signature business, however, has turned out to be the Eco-Center, a combination of a research facility, an educational center, and a community gathering place. The research arm, led by two people recruited by Zeljko, develops new methods of organic grain and meat production. As an education center, the Eco-Center organizes workshops, seminars, and lectures for children, students, businesspeople, and farmers. Topics are diverse, varying from ecological agriculture and sustainable development to personal development and healthy lifestyle habits. It also hosts annual festivals like the Bundevijada (the Pumpkin Festival), which includes 40 other organic and local food vendors from around Croatia.

The education of fellow farmers is particularly important to Zeljko: “Together, Eco-Estate and Eco-Center generate the experience and knowledge needed to help family farms transition to organic agriculture on one hand, and on the other, they provide examples of how following the principles of organic agriculture can help the agricultural industry to be successful and competitive in the international market.”

Zeljko relies on Eco-Mavrovic, the fourth business venture, to do all the marketing and sales of the other three. A recently developed branding logo, “Mavrovic Personal Experience,” unites all Mavrovic’s current business ventures. It also reminds the consumers that Mavrovic has been present among them for nearly 20 years as a sportsman and a businessman.

The Mavrovic businesses take being a good neighbor seriously. Zeljko makes sure that the company’s lands and grounds are well-maintained and trimmed, which creates a welcoming atmosphere. Eco-Center also has a composting program that incorporates wood leftovers from a local furniture maker, manure from a local dairy, and processing waste from the bakery. Zeljko has also developed a strong community partnership with Pet Plus, a local nongovernmental organization providing therapeutic support to drug addicts in the region. The business cluster directly donates funds to Pet Plus, and also provides employment opportunities, training, and other services to Pet Plus clients.

Zeljko is particularly proud of the emphasis his businesses have placed on workers’ rights. Since the Croatian war, worker morale has been low and unemployment high. He has invested heavily in workforce training and services, with the result that his employees have been able to rebuild their homes and neighborhoods for the first time since the War. “The main resource of our project is our employees,” he says. “Our motto is that only a happy and content employee can contribute to making a successful business with the products of his labor.”