Over the past year, retailer Lidl Hrvatska exported €5.7 million in Croatian products to foreign markets in which it operates, a 100 per cent growth on the 2013 figure of €2.5 million.
In this way, Lidl allows its suppliers in Croatia and local products to be present on the shelves of Lidl stores in European countries. Lidl’s suppliers, who have seen the greatest exports, are the PPK Karlovac meat industry, Gavrilovic, Osatina Group and Alba MS.
Currently, through Lidl’s network, Croatian products are mostly exported to Slovenia, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and there are plans to take them to Spain and Portugal, as well as other EU countries.
Some Croatian products is distributed on foreign markets during the so-called “Croatian product week”, an event that enables customers in other European countries to get acquainted with original Croatian products. Other products are sold under the Lidl brands that are identifable to customers abroad, while part of them are famous Croatian brands.
For example, in 2014, Lidl sold over HRK 1 million of Croatian products on the Bulgarian market, on the occasion of football match Croatia – Bulgaria. Numerous local specialities were marketed on shelves of Lidl Bulgaria stores, including cheese pie; Dalmatian smoked ham and roast (under the retailer’s brand name Okusi Zavi?aja); Pikok Slavonian sausage, Nautica Adriatic mackerel, Trappist, wines from the “Winemaker of Croatia” line. One year earlier, the retailer organised a Croatian week in Lidl’s Hungarian stores, presenting Croatian gastronomy.
After Hungary and Bulgaria, Lidl is planning to promote Croatian products through special offers in its stores in other European countries where it operates, visited by more than 9 million customers daily.
