Not many have heard of the small village Vrtište near Niš, but it is the centre of the renowned Fabrika dobre hrane (Good Food Factory), famous for its top quality traditional products. ENECA, non- non-governmental organisation, launched this food processing centre to support premium manufacturers - ten of them initially from Niš and vicinity and nine more from Southeast Serbia through the European Union-funded EU PRO programme. This is how Ljiljana Milenković, owner of “Ajvar Tornado” enterprise from Malošište, got the chance to improve her production and product quality.
Ljiljana worked in sales for a number of companies in Niš for many years. However, since the job had not been fulfilling for a while, she decided to take a new path and start her own business making winter preserves following traditional recipes. Ljiljana’s business is one of nine newly supported businesses that are part of the Good Food Factory and she started producing ajvar, sauces and jams thanks to the support provided. “I inherited the skill of making traditional preserves from my mother and grandmother, it was knowledge passed down through generations and I could see the future in making and selling winter preserves. I applied to the ENECA call where I was given advice and ideas through this food processing centre on how I could improve my business, and with the help of their machines I started preparing high-quality homemade products“, Ljiljana Milenković, owner of “Ajvar Tornado” from Niš, said. Apart from Ljiljana and her family members who help her, this small enterprise has four employees. “The demand for our products is going up, especially for sauces and jams. Since it is difficult to produce such quantities manually, using machines from the food processing centre closes the production loop and gives us an opportunity to expand further, which is what we intend to do both at the local and international market”, Ljiljana concluded.
Through an EU PRO public call, ENECA organisation was awarded an EU grant in 2019 to implement projects focused on enhancing competitiveness of small and medium enterprises. The donation enabled procurement of equipment intended to develop the Good Food Factory production, which can now offer modern, complex machinery to its users, opening avenues to further develop these small manufacturing businesses. “Thanks to EU support we were able to buy a juice press, a duplicator, filling stations for juices, jams and ajvar, as well as a fruit masher and mill and auxiliary equipment for the bath pasteurizer, so we can assist our beneficiaries in producing highest quality products”, Milivoje Jovanović from ENECA said, adding further: “Our food production centre had ten beneficiaries, and our programme helped them produce highest quality foods to be sold throughout Serbia. Nine new enterprises joined us after we implemented the project for the Southeastern Serbia premium food producers. We also provided technological assistance to our beneficiaries through this project so they can improve their production, while through mentoring we also provided advice on how to introduce a new product section, how to place their products in local and international markets. Furthermore we set up digital marketing training since most of our businesses sell their products through social networks. Our goal was to bring forward the finest Serbian flavours from a small village such as Vrtište and help them become famous”.
In order to impact the reduction of unemployment in their parts, ENECA provides seasonal jobs for unemployed women and the youth, while in cooperation with the National Employment Service they organise training sessions for the unemployed to start their own businesses in the food sector.
This is one of 20 projects implemented by the business support organizations that with support from the European Union and the Ministry of European Integration have helped more than 600 small and medium enterprises improve production processes and the quality of products and services, introduce relevant standards and expand businesses in new markets.
Through the activities of the EU PRO programme, the European Union contributes to the more balanced socio-economic development of Serbia with a total of 25 million Euros. The programme aims to contribute to increasing the competitiveness of micro and small enterprises, improving the business environment and strengthening social cohesion in 99 local self-government units, in two regions: the Region of Šumadija and Western Serbia and the Region of Southern and Eastern Serbia. The activities in the field are implemented by UNOPS.