Participants of the third online workshop of the project “Future of the Serbian food industry” got acquainted with the trends of high quality food both in Serbia and in the world, but also with the difficulties faced by producers of specific products in their marketing, types of investments and support to entrepreneurs. There was also talk about what young producers should do before they start production.
The participants of the workshop were Milos Pejcinović, on behalf of the Association for the Promotion of Serbian Food, Milutin Pantic, owner of the HOFF Aronija brand, as well as Darko Mandic, founder of the Foodscale Hub.
– High quality food has become a global trend, consumer habits have changed and they now identify with the brands with which they have the opportunity to communicate and get to know the story behind the idea. In Serbia, too, there are more and more young people who are engaged in the production of this type of food and who with their innovative ideas can make a serious step forward in the market and that is what has potential for the future – said Milos Pejcinovic, on behalf of the Serbian Food Promotion Association .
Milutin Pantic, owner of the HOFF Aronia brand, stated that, if you have a specific product, it is extremely important to dedicate yourself to promotion, information and education of people.
– Also, it is necessary to choose the right target market for your product, where its placement and sale will be much easier – said Pantic and suggested investing in several alternative sales channels, as in situations such as the current crisis Covid-19 production and sales would not find in trouble.
– Direct communication and sales with end consumers lead to building brand awareness among customers – adds Pantic.
When it comes to investing in a startup company, as someone with considerable experience in the field, Darko Mandic, the founder of Foodscale Hub, said that investors are reached in different ways.
– For a start, it can be contacts and contacts of your contacts, and investing in startups is mostly done for the purpose of acquiring a share. The investor is ideally paid if the startup is sold one day or when it starts making a profit. It is certainly important to build a quality relationship and trust with investors, in order to work together in the best interest of startups – said Mandic.
This workshop intended for the municipality of Valjevo was the third in a series of eight workshops, which are being held online due to the epidemiological situation. The future of the Serbian food industry is a project that provides support, promotion and networking to young people who are interested or already involved in the food production sector. The goal is to motivate and empower young people to start their own production, turn to the market of high quality food or improve their existing products. The project is implemented by the Association for the Promotion of Serbian Food, and funded by the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Serbia, eKapija reports.
