Bio-sad d.o.o.

A bottle containing a message of family tradition and quality

Bio-Sad, a family company, has more than 25 years of tradition in producing non-alcoholic, alcoholic and wine-based beverages. From its humble beginnings in Jakobski Dol, the company is about to expand its plant in Lenart to 15,000m² in the coming months. It is a holder of the International Food Standard (IFS) certificate and produces beverages under both its own and the Apis brand. The company also bottles beverages for other brands, using their recipes or Bio-Sad’s own. Three years ago, the founder, Vladimir Černčič, passed the torch to his son, and is about to take much-deserved retirement in the coming year. Since Bio-Sad is a small company with just eight employees, it is distinguished by its extraordinary responsiveness and flexibility. This will certainly be one of its competitive advantages in the future when it intends to expand into foreign markets.

Using knowledge to tread their own path

In 1993, after Vladimir left the Apis company, he and his former colleague, Antonija Žvikart, decided to use their accumulated knowledge and experience and set out on their own business journey. In March 1994, they rented premises in Jakobski Dol—today the registered office of the Bio-Sad company—and started their business modestly. Antonia and Vladimir became owners of the company, with 20% and 80% ownership share, respectively. “Then the company grew, developed and its production and range expanded every year. In 2000, we purchased the premises that we had rented, and 10 years later we made a large investment to expand the facility,” explains Vladimir. At first, Antonija was the technologist and head of production, while Vladimir took over commerce, sales, purchasing, accounting, finances and management. 

In one year, they produced more than one million litres of Gorski list herbal liqueur

Bio-Sad presented itself on the market with 10 varieties of fruit syrup. Almost at the same time, it launched its range of alcoholic beverages, beginning with one product, which was soon joined by others. Initially, they sold products through local traders and a trade union selling point. In 2009, they succeeded in obtaining licensed production for the Serbian, Bosnian and Montenegrin markets. The owner of the brand from Serbia wanted to penetrate the European market. “This was quite a challenge for us, since we had to produce over one million litres of Gorki List herbal liqueur in one year. At that time, we had no equipment, people or premises, but we managed to succeed.” adds Vladimir. After three years, the contract expired and the owner of the brand decided to make the beverage for the Serbian market in Serbia. Although the production volume of the licensed product decreased significantly, their operation was dispersed, enabling the company to continue its operations without any problem. “We have always managed to take positives from a negative situation,” says Vladimir. 

Eventually, they began to cooperate with large traders such as Mercator, Tuš, Spar and Hofer. The company bought the Apis logo and trademark along with three products: vodka, chocolate and rum. They also took the Bishe brand under their wing and thus started to do business with Lidl and Kompas. Today, Bio-Sad offers 65 different products, syrups and alcoholic beverages and bottles beverages for other brands. The largest share of their products (70%) is sold in Slovenia, while they are also present in Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Croatia and Hungary.

The plant covering 15,000m² will soon be operational 

In 2015, they managed to acquire the IFS certificate and added a new milestone to their operation by creating a quality and safe product for consumers in accordance with ISO 9001 and HACCP standards. “IFS is one of the key certificates that convinces customers,” emphasises Director Andrej, since it combines traceability, control, quality and a safe product. “We receive almost no complaints,” adds Vladimir. As a consequence of obtaining the IFS certificate, they began looking for new premises in 2017, since they required a large warehouse and the products needed to be strictly isolated. After complications related to the acquisition of a building permit to expand the facility in Jakobski Dol, they purchased the Lentherm factory facility in Lenart in Slovenske Gorice at auction. “This used to be a metal industry plant performing welding and grinding operations. Except for the basic buildings, nothing is of any use to us. We need to adapt everything to the food industry business. These buildings are now in the investment maintenance phase.” explains Vladimir, while Andrej adds that they plan to move to the new 15,000m² facility at the beginning of 2020. “The location is close to the highway and thus facilitates transport. Access is unhindered for large cargo vehicles.”

Even though he had aspirations elsewhere, he took the chance at home

The co-owner, Antonija Žvikart, retired in 2014, selling her share back to the company. At that time, Andrej, who had learned the ropes of the family business as a student at high-school and later university, was very helpful to his father. “I started in production, labelling our products, and later continued in the office and in the field of management. I took over retail and three years ago when my father qualified for retirement, the post of Director,” says Andrej. Although, as a student of economics, he did not think about taking over the company and was more interested in working abroad, he did not reject the opportunity when it was presented. “My daughter did not see herself taking a management position, and with her PhD in Chemistry she entered the pharmaceutical field,” says Vladimir, who is still active in the company. “We made a soft transition. Andrej was appointed Director and I became the Deputy Manager. When I thought I could turn myself off completely, we started working on expansion, design and searching for suitable new locations, so I am still active,” adds Vladimir, who hopes that within six months he will finally be able to dedicate his time to other activities and himself. 

There are eight people currently employed in the company, of whom four are in production and four in the management team. “Since the beginning of this year the company has had two more employees who used to work in the Lentherm company. One, who has three years to retirement and used to work as a foreman, will now manage the new location and will be responsible for maintenance. The company has also employed a lady who has six years until retirement and used to be a deputy director in Lentherm. She will take care of sales and expansion into foreign markets,” explains Andrej. 

A small, family, quality-driven and responsive company

Andrej and Vladimir say that they have had no disagreements over management of the company, although establishing and preserving a family company entails great responsibility. “The start is always difficult and brings many risks. You pledge all your assets, banks often don't respect you, you mortgage your family house. Gradually you prove that you’re capable and trustworthy and thus, you grow,” describes Vladimir. “Abroad, a family business is treated differently compared to a large group,” Andrej says. In Bio-Sad, in addition to Andrej and Vladimir, Vladimir’s niece is also included, working as a technologist, her husband works a—43js Production Manager and her sister is Head of Accounting.

Expanding abroad and moving to a new location

Their plans include expansion beyond Slovenia’s borders. “We have covered all the dealers in Slovenia, now we are considering expanding into other markets,” explains Andrej. They are discussing expansion into India, Africa and the markets of the former Yugoslavia, in particular Croatia. Today, they experience between 5% to 10% annual growth. “It is not good if you grow too rapidly, because you may neglect some of your customers. You are not able to produce enough beverages in time, and this can tarnish your reputation. It is worse to reach an agreement and fail to deliver than to deliver less and at a lower price,” Says Andrej, describing the industry background. Care for employees remains on the priority list. In future, the company intends to provide a lifting platform to lessen the need for production workers to bend.