Serbia’s Foodland Receives 2008 World Juice Innovation Award
At the Barcelona World Juice Summit, Foodland, a Serbian food processing company received the 2008 World Juice Innovation Award for ‘Best New Juice Product'. The World Juice Innovation Award, one of the world’s most prestigious honors for fruit juices and beverages, is given by Food News magazine, a leading food industry publication. The award-winning Terra Organica organic, wild strawberry nectar is made from strawberries harvested by hand in south-central Serbia and lightly sweetened with organic cane sugar.
“The awarded juice from the ‘Terra Organica’ brand is richer in vitamin C than oranges, has lots of vitamins and minerals, and is recommended for [treating] a number of illnesses,“ said Foodland Director Vaso Lekic. Advisors from USAID’s Agribusiness Project worked closely with Foodland to prepare for the World Juice competition. USAID’s Project team drafted the nomination, and together with Foodland, developed marketing plans for the product, as well as promotional materials and the presentation for the competition.
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| Foodland’s Terra Organica organic, wild strawberry nectar was voted “Best New Juice Product” by Food News magazine. |
USAID also helped the company to undertake a feasibility study for the construction of a new factory, with the capacity to produce 5,000 tons of products from fruits and vegetables annually. The company currently employees 140 people and produces 1,500 tons of various juices, marmalades, compotes, and syrups, which are being exported to over 20 countries under the brands Bakina Tajna (Grandma’s Secret) and Terra Organica.
This is the second time that a company USAID has worked with in Serbia has won the World Juice Innovation Award. In 2004, another USAID-supported company, Fresh & Co. from Subotica won the award for their 100% pure Raspberry Juice.
“The fact that Foodland is the second company from Serbia to win this award clearly demonstrates that Serbia not only has great fruit, but that Serbian companies are also exceptionally innovative and entrepreneurial. These companies have demonstrated that they can take great natural resources and turn them into products that are recognized as being the best in the world," said USAID Deputy Mission Director Marilynn Schmidt, at a press conference organized with the Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SIEPA) on October 17, 2008.
USAID works with many Serbian agricultural producers to increase the competitiveness of Serbia’s businesses on both the domestic and international markets. It is only through good business relations and market integration that Serbian businesses can thrive and reach new, higher-value markets where they can reach more buyers for their products and services. This, in turn, will help create more and better paying jobs. USAID’s Agribusiness Project is just one of the many USAID assistance programs set up to help accelerate these efforts.
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