Rast tim, d. o. o.

e-Branjevka was inspired by their grandma’s garden

Tadej and Gregor entered the business world almost a decade ago. At the time, 20-year-old Tadej was studying for a degree at the School of Economics and Business in Ljubljana and Gregor was working as a construction technician. During that period, online shopping was becoming increasingly popular worldwide and Slovenia was no exception.  As a business student with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, Tadej saw an  opportunity, inspired by his grandmother’s abundant harvest of garden produce in the Dolenjska region, where the family spent their weekends. 

“Grandma always had leftover fruit and vegetables, and every Sunday we  returned to Ljubljana with a car full of them for our friends and neighbors.  When I saw how much demand there was for fresh produce, I started considering ways of turning this into a business,” says Tadej, reflecting on the company’s origins. His older brother Gregor quickly became passionate about the idea and in 2013, they took the reins of the company to create the e-Branjevka brand. They split the workload so that Gregor took over finances and Tadej, who had decided to leave school, managed  everything else. “I had to devote all my time to this business, otherwise we would not have been able to get it running. We had no capital and no financial backup from our parents, so we had to do everything ourselves.  Gregor was a great help, as he was already employed and could invest in  the company,” remembers Tadej. 

The beginning was not easy, but the brothers also had the support and help of their parents, Zdenka and Marko, who are still part of the company to this day. “When the company gained traction, dad was unemployed,so we started working together. We loaded the fruit and vegetables into the truck early in the morning and drove the boxes to our clients. When the business grew, mum also helped in the afternoons. I remember when  we had an order for fruit delivery to a company on New Year’s Day. We were making the fruit crates until four in the morning and by six they were  delivered to the client. That was a very short night, but if you have a goal,  you will do anything to reach it,” recalls Tadej. 

Crates of health à la carte

During the first few years the young entrepreneurs made home deliveries of fruit and vegetables, but they soon realized that this was not worthwhile.  Households usually did not order large quantities and logistics were complicated, so they investigated a new market niche. They began selling to companies who wanted to offer their employees fruit and vegetables in the workplace. They overhauled the old business model and soon saw success. “Why would we deliver fruit and vegetables to homes, if we could  deliver to companies? This allows the companies to encourage a healthy lifestyle among their employees, and the employees can also order fruit and  vegetables to take home,” explain the Grm brothers.

As companies usually do not have appropriate storage for fresh fruit and vegetables, Gregor, who is a skilled carpenter, made wooden crates and  small stands for them. “We set up the first fruit stands in Kolektor Etra, which was also our first large client,” remembers Tadej. During the first few years they made all their deliveries with one van, but that was soon insufficient because their business network expanded ignificantly. “Today we deliver to companies everywhere in Slovenia, from Ljutomer to Portorož,  crossing the whole country twice every week. In Ljubljana, we make deliveries every day, and every second day in the Gorenjska and Dolenjska regions,” explains Tadej. 

Their competitive edge is that companies can choose which fruit they want in their crates, a model that Tadej compares to an à la carte restaurant. In the e-Branjevka store, companies can select crates of different sizes with predetermined combinations of fruit and vegetables or alternatively, specify  the types of fruit when placing the order. The Grm brothers prefer to deliver  locally produced seasonal fruit and vegetables, some of which they grow themselves in several strawberry fields and greenhouses. “Gregor also planted 300 raspberry plants at our grandma’s place,” adds Tadej.

Home delivery exploded during the pandemic

Before the coronavirus pandemic the Grm family delivered a daily dose of fresh vitamins to around 250 companies and more than 20,000 employees. Initially the crisis hit their trade quite hard, but they exploited  the new circumstances by overhauling their business model once again.  Almost overnight their focus shifted to home deliveries of fruit and vegetables.

“We talked to some companies whose employees were working from home during the pandemic and offered to deliver fruit and vegetables to  their homes. This initiative was well received by the companies and now  the business is returning to normal. Our delivery to individual homes increased by 95% during the pandemic, which would not be possible without good logistics, which is a key factor for consumers when it  comes to online shopping. We are also glad that companies are returning  with their orders, which have now reached 90% of the pre-pandemic  numbers,” explains Tadej.

They also decided to invest more into online marketing in order to increase the visibility and popularity of the e-Branjevka brand. Tadej’s  wife Sonja, who is their warehouse manager and knows every client’s wishes like the back of her hand, was very helpful in this department.  Tadej confesses that they were not aware of the importance of brand visibility before the pandemic: “Now we think completely differently, as  80% of our final customers turned out to be employees of the companies  to which we delivered before the coronavirus outbreak. We want  consumers to be more aware of our brand, so that e-Branjevka is their first choice when the next wave hits.” Before the coronavirus they had nine employees, now their team comprises 11 members.

The sons want to accelerate, but the parents sometimes put the brakes on

When we ask the Grm brothers about their plans, they are very clear about their ambition to expand their fruit and vegetables deliveries beyond  Slovenia and into neighboring markets. Tadej believes this is a realistic goal: “If we can deliver fruit to Slovenian plants, why couldn’t we deliver it to the Audi plant in Ingolstadt, Germany. I believe we can reach anything within 500 kilometers from Ljubljana.” The Grm parents still have some influence, while in contrast to their sons, they sometimes prefer to put the brakes on when it comes to business, according to Gregor. Zdenka and Marko are still actively involved in the business; Zdenka is Director and owner and Marko still likes to help haul the fruit crates, even though he is already over 60.Last year, Rast Tim achieved €540,000 in revenue and €15,000 net profit. 

“If we repeat last year’s business results this year, we will be more than happy,” concludes Tadej.