Lidl Presents New Brand of Domestic Products “S ljubavlju, domace” – Since Entry to Local Market, EUR 390 Million Invested in Serbian Economy

Lidl Srbija has presented its new brand of products “S ljubavlju, domace”, which consists of around 80 products made exclusively by domestic suppliers. Consumers will find “S ljubavlju, domace” products in Lidl’s standard offer. In addition to being Serbian in origin, these products are characterized by a high level of quality and special features. Since late August, these products have been available at Lidl stores exclusively, in over 30 cities of Serbia.

The new Lidl brand was presented at the panel discussion called “S ljubavlju, domace – Why it is important to upgrade product quality and production standards”, organized on that occasion and featuring the minister of agriculture, forestry and water management, Branislav Nedimovic, the director of the Sector for Strategic Analyses, Services and Internationalization at the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia (CCIS), Mihailo Vesovic, one of Lidl’s local suppliers, the owner of the meat packing company Djurdjevic, Milenko Djurdjevic, as well as the hosts, representatives of Lidl Srbija, the general manager, Tomislav Sapina, and the supply executive, Nikola Balaban. The panel was moderated by the coordinator of the Association for Food and Agriculture of the NALED, Isidora Smigic.

– Since its arrival to Serbia, our company has invested EUR 390 million to this day, and “S ljubavlju, domace” is one of the ways in which we fulfill the promises we’ve made and invest in the local economy. In addition to meeting the consumers’ needs, with this new offer of local products, hiring local suppliers, we are helping Serbian producers develop. By cooperating with us, the suppliers are guaranteed that their products will be available at over 50 Lidl stores, but they are also preparing for the possibility of export to the competitive foreign markets – stated the general manager of Lidl Srbija, Tomislav Sapina, who especially thanked the employees and the partners of Lidl in his introductory speech.

– It is my great pleasure that Lidl Srbija today promotes local products of this kind, with a special tag, “S ljubavlju, domace”. This is primarily very important for Serbia because large store chains are becoming a place of accumulation of local production, so this is a great opportunity to prove wrong all those who believed that there were no domestic products in Serbia – stated the minister of agriculture, forestry and water management of Serbia, Branislav Nedimovic.

– Support to local suppliers, such as the one we’re witnessing today, is very important, because it offers the possibility to customers to choose the domestic product when they’re choosing between two products of similar quality. Companies such as Lidl, when they establish cooperation with local suppliers, impose top quality standards, which raises the overall standard and quality of domestic products in Serbia. Furthermore, this cooperation incites small producers to reach that standard, because that allows them to enter the market, both local and regional, and then also the market of the European Union, where Lidl Srbija operates successfully – stated the director of the Sector for Strategic Analyses, Services and Internationalization at the CCIS, Mihailo Vesovic.

– We’ve worked on this project for over a year in order to find the right partners and, together with them, develop a line created so as to justify its name, created with plenty of love and dedication of hard-working craftsmen from our country. Furthermore, all the suppliers of the “S ljubavlju, domace” brand, own the IFS certification, whereby we’ve combined the excellent flavor with a confirmation of food safety and quality – stated Nikola Balaban, the supply executive of Lidl Srbija.

From the angle of the suppliers, the owner of the meat packing company Djurdjevic, Milenko Djurdjevic, says that the cooperation with the large chain is very important, because it leads to an upgrade of the business operations.

– I am proud of the cooperation with Lidl, because, as an international store chain, it brings the best practice from other markets, while at the same time leaving us enough room to contribute, as experienced craftsmen, with what we’re doing the best, making domestic products that the consumers love.

The “S ljubavlju, domace” brand consists of products such as fresh milk and Sumadija yogurt with 4% milk fat, fruit yogurts with 16% fruit chunks, domestic pork rinds, pastry sheets from Srem, cheese from Fruska Gora and many others. Whether it’s raspberries, cheese or dried meat, these products combine the love and desire to develop a range of Serbian products with the dedication of hard-working craftsmen.

LIDL SRBIJA KD

Ministarstvo poljoprivrede, šumarstva i vodoprivrede Republike Srbije

Privredna komora Srbije

Đurđević Subotište

Lidl Srbija

Industrija mesa Đurđević

Branislav Nedimović

Mihailo Vesović

Milenko Đurđević

Tomislav Šapina

Nikola Balaban

Isidora Šmigić

S ljubavlju domaće