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Mavrovic Companies Summary
Croatia: The Mavrovic Companies www.eko-mavrovic.hr/
When Zeljko Mavrovic, Croatia's former heavyweight boxer, retired from the ring, he decided to apply the principles of his training-- hard work and a healthy diet-- to forming a company that would produce top-quality, natural food that would provide his fellow Croatians with healthful food choices produced in an environmentally responsible way. “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 benefit 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.”
A decade later, the Mavrovic Companies have become the biggest organic agricultural operation in Croatia, and now include four independent enterprises: two organic grain and animal farms; a bakery; a resource/ research center; and a marketing, sales, and distribution firm. 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.” Above all, education is a crucial component of the Mavorovic Companies, in leading by example to create a greater change in farming and production practices. “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.”
